Monarchs Reign Out on Court

Not even the streak-busting Santa Margarita girls’ tennis team could stop Santa Ana Mater Dei right now.

The Monarchs (9-0, 3-0), fresh off two tournament victories in Las Vegas, defeated the Eagles, 13-5, in a key Serra League match Thursday at Santa Margarita.

Santa Margarita (8-3, 2-1) ended Mater Dei’s 56-match league winning streak in the teams’ second meeting last year, winning on games, 77-75, after a 9-9 tie in sets.

Despite a three-set sweep by No. 1 player Molly Scott, however, the Eagles never got close this time, and Mater Dei is riding high at No. 8 in the Southland in The Times’ rankings.

“This puts us in great shape,” Mater Dei Coach Richard Berman said.

Mater Dei relies on four freshmen, including top singles players Michelle Murphy and Leslie Bullock. In the victory over Santa Margarita, however, the Monarchs also got strong doubles performances from the No. 1 team of senior Carolina Velasco and sophomore Andrea Zamucen and the No. 2 team of sophomore Cassidy Grandstaff and freshman Elizabeth Van’t Hof.

Murphy, who has been hampered by a sore right shoulder, is 24-3 in sets this season. Bullock, bothered by a twisted right ankle she suffered the day before the Santa Margarita match, is 25-2. Velasco and Zamucen have posted a 25-2 record together.

“This is the most amazing team I’ve ever coached,” Berman said. “We’ve been talking about it all year long. Whatever we do, we’re going to do it as a team.”

Deep Knights

The Santa Ana Foothill girls’ team is 9-1, including eight consecutive victories to start the year before dropping a 12-6 decision to Newport Harbor last week.

Sophomore Becky Duesler gives the Knights a solid No. 1 player, but she is also an excellent doubles player who won the Sea View League title last year with teammate Jenna Colgrove.

Senior Ari Fahrney would typically play singles but because of a season-long hip flexor problem, has moved to No. 1 doubles, where she teams with senior Alaine Anderson. They have a 29-1 record.

Second-year Coach Kerry Livingston’s team features eight seniors, including four with four years of varsity experience. Livingston, 68, a retired middle-school teacher, carries 12 players on his roster, and all of them almost always play at least one set.

“You can get more kids involved that way,” he said. “And that’s really what it’s all about.”