DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK:

The initial thought of teaming Karen Ishii and Kelli Feeley seemed random, but in reality it was inevitable.

No one really knows who came up with the idea of making the two a doubles team for the Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis squad. Yet it only seemed logical.

Ishii’s calming presence and consistent play would mesh well with Feeley’s aggressiveness at the net and hard hitting.

Back in April, the experiment began.

The site? The Ojai tournament.

Sure, why not? Go ahead and try it out in one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year. That’s what CdM Coach Brian Ricker thought. He also had a feeling they would have success.

He was right.

Ishii and Feeley did not win Ojai, but they reached the title match of the girls’ 18s doubles division, losing to CdM teammates Danielle Kaiden and Paige Polizois.

Since then, Ishii and Feely haven’t lost that much. In fact, the CdM duo went 46-1 during the regular season.

They helped CdM win its 10th straight Pacific Coast League title and earn the top seed for the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. The Sea Kings (16-0) continue their quest for the CIF title today with a second-round match at Mira Costa at 2 p.m.

“It might’ve been Brian’s idea, but we had been thinking about it too,” Feeley said of the way the doubles team came about. “I’m more of an offensive player and she is defensive. We are like ying and yang. We knew it could work real well. We just thought we would give it a shot and it actually worked out for the best.”

Last week, that was certainly the case.

Ishii and Feeley, as a doubles team, also extended their season with their achievements at the PCL finals at Beckman. They beat the top-seeded tandem, and their teammates, Kaiden and Lindsay Zotovich. The senior duo entered the match undefeated at 45-0.

Both doubles teams knew they had qualified for the CIF doubles tournament that starts Saturday, so that put the girls at ease. But don’t think they were playing the match for fun.

Ishii, a senior, tried to downplay the significance of the victory, by saying, “It was just a match,” but then she admitted that it felt good to win.

After all, it was such a tight match. Ishii and Feely won, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

“It’s never easy playing against your own teammates, but they were both very gracious about it,” Ishii said. “We knew we would play against each other [in the PCL finals]. We wanted to make sure that we kept being teammates in mind, even though they were our opponents. There was no drama. Both teams were grateful that we were in the finals and going to CIF [Individuals].”

Kaiden and Zotovich played at No. 1 doubles for CdM for the majority of the year, yet at times during the season, Ishii and Feeley would beat them during practices. But Kaiden and Zotovich would also win in the practice matches.

Yet the biggest winner of all was Ricker and the CdM girls’ tennis team.

“We’re just blessed to have two great doubles teams,” Ricker said. “They all play so smart.”

Each player’s ability to play so well in doubles allowed Ricker to mix up the teams at times during the season.

If they can all follow his simple strategy they increase their chances of winning. The most important aspect for the girls is to keep the ball in play.

Feeley, a junior, had struggled with that at times last year, Ricker said, because she was always going for the big shot. But the CdM coach has seen a huge improvement from Feeley this season.

“Kelli just completely eliminated her unforced errors,” Ricker said. “She has really improved.”

That’s part of the reason Feeley and Ishii have done so well this year. Another reason would be Ishii’s consistency. Ricker calls her, “a model athlete.”

It seemed to be only a matter of time before Ishii and Feeley would become a doubles team. Now, the Corona del Mar duo is hoping to take advantage while competing in the CIF Individual tournament.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].