Torrey Pines Delivers First Loss to Dana Hills

Shan Sondhu’s left wrist was broken, his right one was racked with tendinitis, and the Dana Point Dana Hills boys’ tennis team was facing its toughest competition so far this season in Torrey Pines.

Hands down.

Previously unbeaten Dana Hills, short-handed and stretched past its limit by fatigue and a formidable opponent, settled for second place in the Corona del Mar/All-American tournament after a 7-2 loss to the top-seeded Torreys in the championship match of the 16-team event Saturday at Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach.

“I could barely hit the ball today,” said Sondhu, who had limited use of his backhand because of the cast on his left forearm and was finally done in by his aching right arm.

Sondhu, the Dolphins’ top player, retired at the start of his last match, a showdown with Steven Forman at No. 1 singles, giving the Torreys a nearly insurmountable 4-0 advantage after they had already won three doubles points, including an 8-7 (7-4) decision by Forman and Mark Marsala over Sondhu and his younger brother, sophomore Taran, at No. 1 doubles.

Sondhu, a Virginia-bound senior ranked No. 23 nationally in the U.S. Tennis Assn. boys’ 18 division, competed in his first high school-level match during Friday’s play. After two years of independent studies through Ojai Laurel Springs, he had been awaiting clearance of his eligibility by the Southern Section.

Sondhu, who suffered the broken wrist when Taran landed on it while the two roughhoused at home three weeks ago, attended Aliso Viejo Aliso Niguel as a freshman but did not compete for the Wolverines.

“I just wanted to experience my senior year in high school,” Sondhu said.

Brentwood finished third in the tournament with a 7-2 victory over host Corona del Mar, a three-time winner of the event.

Seniors Daniel Freeman and Jeff Karsh led the Eagles, with Freeman beating the Sea Kings’ Jonathan Kroopf, 8-5, at No. 1 singles and Karsh defeating Parker Rhodes, 8-2, at No. 2.

Santa Barbara, last year’s tournament champion, finished fifth after a 5-4 loss to Riverdale (N.Y.) Horace Mann. Irvine University finished seventh with a 7-2 victory over Phoenix Brophy Prep.

-- Lauren Peterson

Track and Field

Junior Ebony Collins of Long Beach Wilson won three events and anchored a winning 400-meter relay team in 46.65 at the San Diego Mt. Carmel Invitational. She won the 100-meter high hurdles in 14.01, equaling her state-leading time, as well as winning the 300 low hurdles in 43.82 and the 400 in 54.24.