Johnson, Artists Pull Themselves Together in Nick of Time

Things were uncharacteristically unraveling for top-seeded Laguna Beach early in its Southern Section Division V girls’ tennis championship match Monday at the Claremont Club.

The two-time defending champion Artists trailed Los Angeles Marlborough, a team that was making its first finals appearance since the school opened 112 years ago, by two sets after the first round.

Nicole Johnson, Laguna Beach’s No. 3 singles player, already had dropped a set and held a slim lead over Chloe Leeson, the Mustangs’ No. 2 singles player, when she appeared on the verge of a mini-meltdown. After Leeson called one of Johnson’s groundstrokes long, Johnson slumped her shoulders and snapped back sharply, “Are you joking me?”

But Johnson quickly regained her composure and reeled off three straight games to beat Leeson. The win was symbolic of Laguna Beach’s 10-8 comeback victory that gave the Artists their third consecutive title and sixth in nine years.

“If I stayed in that mentality, I wasn’t going to win any more games,” Johnson said. “I just tried to put it behind me and move on.”

Lindsey Butterwick, Laguna Beach’s No. 1 singles player and a key contributor on the Artists’ last three championship teams, clinched the match with a 6-2 victory over Leeson.

“Not many teams can say they won three CIF championships,” said Butterwick, a junior. “Next year I want to do it again.”

Laguna Beach (16-6) established itself as the class of Division V this season thanks to a brutal schedule that included games against upper-division powers Beverly Hills, Dana Hills and Corona del Mar. The Artists tied Beverly Hills in sets, 9-9, but lost on games.

“Those games were so beneficial,” Laguna Beach Coach Michelle Foster said. “Even though we would suffer a loss, the kids got exposure to the top players. They got more confidence through that.”

Marlborough (17-2), seeded third, wasn’t expected to give the Artists much of a challenge, but apparently no one told the Mustangs. Sophomore Yelena Olshanskaya, Marlborough’s top singles player, swept her matches, as did the doubles tandem of Shaina Zaidi and Sara Kaz.

“The kids didn’t think they could do it,” said Marlborough Coach Maurica Katz, “but in the last three weeks they started believing in themselves. Some of our girls couldn’t hit the ball over the net two years ago, but now we’re in the championship game.”