No shocker for Lightning

NEWPORT BEACH ? Down, 5-2, Martin Park felt something he hadn’t in a while. Stress.

After winning his past nine sets at least a 6-2 margin, the Sage Hill School boys’ tennis team’s No. 1 singles player was worried about his position against Whitney’s No. 1 player.

Park figured he had nothing to lose. With a mixture of mental and physical, Park took five consecutive games and the set, 7-5.

Sage Hill went on to win the Academy League match, 14-4, at Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club on Thursday to improve to 5-3, 3-0 in league. The Lightning, ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division V, scored a relatively easy win against the No. 8 team in the division.

Park swept all three of his singles sets, the final two with more comfortable 6-0 and 6-3 scores.

“I was pretty worried,” Park said of his first set. “I told myself I had nothing to lose. After I got a couple of points under my belt, I felt comfortable.”

Park also changed how he was approaching his serve. It showed as he consistently blasted his first serve in after falling behind, 5-2, and took the last two points of the set on aces.

“Early in the set, I wasn’t looking at the ball when I served,” Park said.

The junior also increased his intensity, focused on winning every point. Whitney’s William Cho became frustrated, hitting all types of shots long.

“I sort of wanted to get into his head,” said Park, who couldn’t remember the last time he was down, 5-2, in a set. “If you want to be better you have to do what it takes to win.”

After cruising through Sage Hill’s previous three matches ? 18-0, 18-0 and 17-1 victories for the Lightning ? Park relished the competition.

“It was definitely different,” Park said. “Since the last few games, this is a new challenge. It’s a lot more stressful. You feel better if you win, but if you lose, you feel worse.”

The Lightning’s No. 1 doubles team managed the only other sweep. The duo of senior Michael Garrison and freshman Troy Astorino is undefeated since being paired together, winning 15 consecutive sets.

Garrison pointed to Astorino ? who ran cross country and played basketball for Sage Hill ? and his athleticism as a reason for the success.

“I don’t think he had a double fault in the first two sets,” Garrison said of his partner. “He’s a good volleyer. His groundstrokes are good. He’s athletic. A lot of times when the smash comes at me, I dance out of the way and he gets to it.”

Garrison has been a part of the No. 1 doubles team at Sage Hill all four years and Lightning Coach A.G. Longoria said he has a solid partner for him in Astorino.

“He’s a good candidate in two to three years for Sage Hill’s male athlete of year,” Longoria said. “They are the best team in the Academy League.”

Longoria said that after his team overwhelmed its competition in three previous matches, there was cause for concern facing third-place Whitney (5-8).

“I was very worried, very concerned,” Longoria said. “Sometimes with two shutouts in a row you get cocky.”

When his team jumped out to a 6-0 lead, Longoria knew that wouldn’t be the case.

A match on the road against St. Margaret’s looms April 25. The two, in all likelihood, will play for the Academy League championship and a higher seeding in the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs.

Sage Hill lost at home to St. Margaret’s, 10-8, on March 24.

“Our goal is we have to beat a very good St. Margaret’s team at their place,” Longoria said. “I think this was the best match we’ve played all year. We played to our potential.”