Title Comes Easily for Corona del Mar

Much like Garrett Snyder’s serves and volleys, the Corona del Mar boys’ tennis team was just too good.

Snyder did not give up a game in his three sets and the top-seeded Sea Kings won all nine singles sets en route to a commanding 14-4 victory over unseeded Santa Barbara in the Southern Section Division I championship match Wednesday at The Claremont Club.

Although Snyder, a senior who was the singles runner-up in the Southern Section individual tournament last weekend, was the lone player not to surrender any games, he was not the only player to stand out for Corona del Mar.

Sophomores Wesley Miller and Spencer Reitz took three sets apiece at Nos. 2 and No. 3 singles, with Miller winning all three by 6-1 scores.

“I think we all stepped up our game today,” Miller said. “My serve was pretty on, and my forehand, nobody could return. We pretty much killed them in singles.”

Aware of Corona del Mar’s strength in singles, Santa Barbara (18-4) tried to bring out its big guns, but the Dons had no ammunition.

Top player Blake Muller, a sophomore who had been sidelined for all but one match, made his second appearance of the season. But Muller was hampered because he could only use an underhanded serve, had no reach or lift on his shots, and only lasted two sets.

The Dons, who usually excel in doubles, got their only sweep from the No. 1 team of Chase Muller and Kerry Wheeler, semifinalists in the individual tournament.

In other section finals:

Long Beach Poly 11, Temecula Chaparral 7 -- Poly won five of six second-round sets in the round-robin competition to break a 3-3 tie to take control and win its first boys’ tennis title in the Division III final.

The Jackrabbits (23-2), who won eight of nine doubles sets, got two key singles victories in the second round when top player John Wong beat No. 2 Evan Tarpenning, 6-1, and Long Beach Poly No. 2 player Pierre Batton won, 6-1, over No. 3 Cory Combs.

Long Beach Poly cousins Albert and Hubert Barnum defeated Stephen McDaniel and Harry Huxford, 7-6 (3), en route to winning three sets, and the Jackrabbits’ top doubles team of Robert Rye and Steve Thai also won three sets.

Chaparral (21-3) was making its first appearance in a final in any sport since the school opened six years ago.

Cerritos Whitney 11, Anaheim Fairmont Prep 7 -- The No. 2 doubles team of James Lhi and Parag Parekh posted two crucial victories to help Whitney win all nine doubles sets en route to the Division V championship, the school’s first in any sport.

Whitney (24-3), which won 19 of its last 20 matches, broke a 3-3 first-round tie to claim its third and most important victory over Fairmont Prep (13-7) this season.

The Wildcats defeated the Huskies on games in one Academy League meeting, and won, 10-8, in another one.

Lauren Peterson

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Brentwood 12, Redondo 6 -- Top-seeded Brentwood took charge of the Division IV final early when the doubles team of Steve Elson and Chuckie Hunegardt rallied for a dramatic 7-6 victory over Ken Rojes and Alvin Jeong that took a 7-2 tiebreaker to decide.

From there, Redondo (24-1) wilted and Brentwood (21-5) never let up. Teshim Demasa subbed in to play a singles set and clinched the match with a 6-2 decision as Brentwood won its first title in four consecutive finals.

-- Paul McLeod