Laguna Beach girls’ tennis breaks through, returns to CIF finals for first time in 5 years

Players on both sides sat and waited, transfixed on the drama unfolding before them in the early afternoon of Wednesday’s tilt for a spot in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 girls’ tennis final.

The No. 3 singles match was the last on court in the first round of play between Santa Monica Crossroads and Laguna Beach, and the longer the set wore on, the more it became apparent the Breakers needed it.

Hannah Nguyen authored a backhand winner to conclude a 15-shot rally, rattling off five consecutive games at the end of her first set to win it by a score of 7-5, giving the Breakers a spark in their eventual 12-6 win at home.

“I think that win spurred on,” Laguna Beach coach Robert Klugman said. “We won the next round 5-1, and then we were basically home free. It was a real catalyst. It got people psyched.”

Teammates rushed over to embrace Nguyen after the key victory, which evened the match at three sets apiece after a first round that saw the Breakers sweep singles, with the Roadrunners doing the same in doubles.

“I was just happy about it,” Nguyen said. “When everyone started rushing to me and hugging me, I was like, ‘Oh, this is really cool. This is nice.’”

Laguna Beach (19-3) took off from there, the doubles pairings of Ava Chadha and Ryan Levine, as well as Isabella LoBosco and Kendyl Beresford claiming sets in the second round to take an 8-4 lead into the final rotation.

Dominant singles play from Jessica MacCallum, who had taken part in a signing day ceremony on campus less than two hours before the match, helped take the edge off in the event the match came down to games. The Cal Poly signee did not drop a game against Crossroads (11-5).

Rebecca MacCallum surrendered just five games in sweeping her singles sets, and Nguyen captured both of her sets with a one-break margin of victory before being relieved.

“The first two years I played, my big sister [Sarah] was on the team, so it’s cool to be in the other position,” Jessica MacCallum said. “I think it makes it just more important if you’re playing for yourself, but also your teammates and then your sister, as well. …

“It’s really helped with the tough matches, where they’re close, looking over at her and seeing, ‘OK, I’m not only playing for myself. I have to dig deep for her and for everyone.”

Top-seeded Laguna Beach will face Calabasas in the Division 2 final at 11:10 a.m. on Friday at the Claremont Club.

Calabasas (15-3), the No. 3 seed, defeated second-seeded San Clemente 11-7 in its semifinal match.

The Breakers are 11-2 all-time in the CIF finals, but they haven’t won a title since 2005. Their only appearance in a section championship since then saw Huntington Beach edge Laguna Beach 10-8 in the Division 3 final in 2018.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Klugman said. “They’ve had a lot of good victories. We’ve had a combination of new players and old players. … They really come together well as a team, which is really to me the point of high school tennis. Tennis is a very, very individual sport, and it’s very rare, particularly for juniors, to get this experience together.”

CIF Southern Section Division 2 semifinals

Laguna Beach 12, Crossroads 6

Singles: Jessica MacCallum (LB) def. Michaela Schachter (C) 6-0, def. Shane O’Sullivan (C) 6-0, def. Madeleine Kayne (C-sub) 6-0; Rebecca MacCallum (LB) 6-3, 6-2, 6-0; Lola Sabol (LB-sub) 1-6, Hannah Nguyen (LB) 6-4, def. Imogen Smith (C) 7-5.

Doubles: Ava Chadha/Ryan Levine (LB) lost to Kyra Monti/Reilly Weg (C) 4-6, def. Gabrielle Shiao/Sofia Morovati (C) 6-4, def. Honor Warren/Valerie Ward (C) 6-1; Isabella LoBosco/Kendyl Beresford (LB) 6-2, 6-7, 6-0; Annabella Miller/Malia Preston (LB-sub) 1-6, Chloe Balliet/Rachel Jolley (LB) 0-6, 5-7.

Also in the CIF Southern Section girls’ tennis playoffs:

Aliso Niguel 11, Fountain Valley 7: A memorable season for the Barons ended in the Division 1 semifinals on the road Wednesday.

Fountain Valley (13-5), the No. 2 representative from the Surf League, won seven of nine doubles sets but was swept in singles.

The Barons’ doubles teams of Kendra Ly and Jaslyn Nguyen, as well as Katelyn Nguyen and Kacie Lam, both swept their three sets.

Fountain Valley coach Harshul Patel said he was proud of his girls, who advanced to the Division 1 semifinals for the first time in program history. Fountain Valley was a Division 2 finalist last year.

Staff writer Matt Szabo contributed to this report.