Singles sweep helps CdM

The Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team has a very strong singles lineup this year, with sophomore Danielle Willson, senior Siena Sharf and junior Jasie Dunk.

But nothing is guaranteed. Dunk and Sharf were certainly up against it midway through Wednesday’s Battle of the Bay rivalry match against Newport Harbor.

On side-by-side courts at Newport Harbor High, Dunk and Sharf found themselves down big. The Sailors’ Jenn Kingsley had a 5-0 lead over Dunk. Sharf was down, 5-2, to Hannah Blower of Newport Harbor.

Dunk said later that she wanted to cry. Thankfully for the Sea Kings, she and Sharf kept their emotions in check and earned big comeback victories.

Dunk won five straight games and eventually earned a 7-6 (7-4) tiebreaker victory over Kingsley. Sharf also won five straight games to top Blower, 7-5.

Willson, Dunk and Sharf ended up sweeping in singles as CdM topped the rival Sailors, 13-5, to win the Battle of the Bay for the fourth straight year.

“[It feels] so good, considering I was so nervous,” Dunk said after the match. “I think I came out a little cocky. They were playing a lot better than I thought they would be. We just kept digging our hole. Once we got so deep, all we could do was escalate up.”

Senior Erica Chen and junior Camellia Edalat swept, 6-0, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles for CdM, narrowly missing the “triple bagel.” But Corona del Mar (3-0), ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, definitely had to earn the victory over the Sailors (4-1).

CdM took a 5-1 lead after the first round and a 9-3 lead after two rounds. The lead after the first round was nearly only 4-2, but CdM’s No. 2 team of senior Paige Kenerson and sophomore Emily Freyman rallied for a 7-5 win over Olivia Zehnder and Elle Zielinski. The Newport duo had served for the set at 5-4.

“We needed that one,” CdM Coach Jamie Gresh said aloud to his players as he recorded the win on his score sheet.

Willson, who swept her three sets, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1, has more help in singles this year for the Sea Kings than she did as a freshman. But she also noticed another change from when the Sea Kings beat the Sailors, 12-6, last year in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs at the Newport Harbor courts.

“The crowd wasn’t as bad as last year,” Willson said. “Last year they were all in your face at the fence, but they got better at that. I was still really nervous though.”

Newport Harbor seniors Anna Burke and Kendall Cosenza won twice at No. 1 doubles, as did the No. 3 pairing of juniors Taryn Anderson and Eva Newsom. Zehnder and Zielinski took their third and final set, in a tiebreaker over a CdM substitute team.

But, despite the Sea Kings’ singles sweep, Newport Harbor Coach Kristen Case also saw fight from her singles players of Kingsley, Blower and Lily Walkow.

“They have a very deep team, and their singles line is ridiculous,” Case said. “You do what every competitor does. You go out there and fight as hard as you can ... I feel like our singles did a really good job today of making them play another ball, making them have to hustle and run things down and come up with big shots. In the end, it’s only going to make our singles line better playing girls like that, because those are some of the best girls in Southern California.

“If you’re going to play some of the best girls in Southern California, you’re going to learn a lot more and you’re going to get a lot better. Today is a blessing for us, because we learned a lot and we can use that as we move forward and keep on climbing.”

Burke and Cosenza agreed with their coach, saying they were impressed with their teammates’ intensity. Burke said this was the Sailors’ best team during her four years on varsity.

Each Back Bay school has a big week next week. CdM tangles with top-ranked defending Division 1 champion Peninsula on Tuesday at CdM, before opening Pacific Coast League play at Woodbridge on Thursday.

Newport Harbor plays at Aliso Niguel on Monday, and against rival Sage Hill on Tuesday at The Tennis Club. The Sailors then open Sunset League action Thursday at home against Fountain Valley. Last year, the Sailors split two tight matches with Fountain Valley, winning on games before losing on games in league. However, the Sailors earned the second-place tiebreaker into CIF because their games margin was greater.

“I think we’re way farther ahead than we were in years past,” Case said. “It’s only going to get better from here.”

That might not be true for CdM, which is still trying different doubles lineups. However, winning Battle of the Bay is always a season highlight.

“We won it all of my years at CdM,” said Chen, a senior co-captain with Sharf and Kenerson. “It feels really nice. We’re leaving the team in good hands for next year, next Battle of the Bay.”