County’s Best Team Not Good Enough

Corona del Mar might be the top-ranked team in Orange County, but the Sea Kings have a way to go before they are considered the best in Southern California. Corona del Mar lost, 7-2, Saturday afternoon to Beverly Hills in the semifinals of the National High School All-American tournament at Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club.

The loss was the Sea Kings’ second of the season to a Los Angeles-area team. Two weeks ago, they were beaten by Palos Verdes Peninsula, 15-3.

“We’re not up there,” said Corona del Mar Coach Andy Stewart. “We’re a good team but we’re not the best team.”

Stewart thought his team’s strength was its depth from one to nine in the lineup. But now he’s not so sure.

“Maybe we’re not as deep as I thought we were,” Stewart said. “On paper, we’re pretty good. We have a lot of highly ranked players. But the girls have to go out and win on the court. High school tennis is one set and I don’t think my girls realize that.”

Third-seeded Corona del Mar (10-2) hung tough with unseeded Beverly Hills (10-1) through the doubles as Anne Yelsey and Leslie Damion upset Beverly Hills’ No. 1 team of Iris Ichim and Irina Shaf, 6-4, after trailing, 4-2. Yelsey and Damion closed out the match by breaking Ichim’s serve. In the game, Shaf netted two easy volleys at the net.

“That was nice,” Yelsey said. “I think they were shocked we could come back.”

But the comeback didn’t continue as Beverly Hills won five of the six singles sets. Kim Singer, ranked 17th in the Southern California girls’ 16s, scored the Sea Kings’ only point at No. 2 singles, upsetting Riza Zalameda, 6-2. Zalameda is ranked fourth in the girls’ 14s.

Yelsey had an off day serving and lost to the hard-hitting Ichim, 6-2. Ichim, a sophomore who is ranked ninth nationally in the girls’ 18s, did not play high school tennis last year.

“The competition isn’t as good in high school as the juniors, but in this tournament it’s great,” Ichim said. “My strategy against Anne was to hit to her backhand and get off the court as soon as possible.”

Many of the coaches in the tournament wondered why Beverly Hills was not seeded. But tournament director Tim Mang defended his seedings.

“I didn’t know what Beverly Hills team was going to show,” Mang said. “I saw they lost to Peninsula, 17-1, last week. If I knew they had their full lineup, I probably would have taken CdM out of the seeds.”

Corona del Mar’s team will get a little deeper next week when Brittany Reitz, a transfer from St. Margaret’s, becomes eligible. Reitz, ranked 16th in the 18s, will probably play No. 2 singles for the Sea Kings.

In the other semifinal, Peninsula was tied with Atherton Menlo after the six singles sets but swept the doubles to win, 6-3, and stop Menlo’s 92-match winning streak.

Corona del Mar rebounded to defeat Menlo, 9-0, in the third-place match.

Corona del Mar beat Menlo easily with No. 1 singles player Yelsey beating Ashley Tipton, 6-0, in the opener, then returning with Leslie Damion to defeat Nancy Mok and Michelle Leutzinger at No. 1 doubles.

Kim Singer defeated Mok, 6-4, in the No. 2 singles match.

Beverly Hills beat Peninsula in the final, 5-4.

In other matches, Dana Hills lost to second-seeded Del Mar Torrey Pines for fifth place, 8-1, and Troy beat Pleasanton Foothill, 8-1, for seventh.