CdM busts Uni’s streak

IRVINE — It had been six years since the Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team had beaten rival University.

Then again, Beckman, Woodbridge, Northwood and Irvine haven’t been able to touch the Trojans either in Pacific Coast League play.

The second time the Trojans played CdM in league last year, they celebrated their 50th straight league victory. They came into Thursday’s match with an impressive 54-match winning streak in league.

The streak says a lot about the Trojans, the five-time defending league champions.

But it’s over now.

Corona del Mar used an inspired team effort to beat University on the road, 14-4, taking the driver’s seat in league and handing the Trojans their first league loss since Oct. 28, 2009. On that date it was also CdM, led by then-seniors Melissa Matsuoka and Hailey Hogan, that beat Uni.

In this year’s first matchup of the top two teams in Orange County, CdM was just too strong.

“We’re excited to be the ones to break their record,” said CdM senior Paige Kenerson, who won two of three sets at No. 2 doubles with sophomore partner Emily Freyman. “I think that it fires everyone up for the rest of the season. I know we dropped a few spots in the [CIF Southern Section Division 1] rankings this week [from No. 4 to No. 7], so our hope is that we move back up in the rankings. We really want to make it to the finals of CIF, and I think this just makes everyone more positive.”

CdM (7-1, 3-0 in league) won eight of nine singles sets. Sophomore Danielle Willson and junior Jasie Dunk each swept, while senior Siena Sharf won twice.

Willson’s first set, against University senior Judy Kam, that set the tone. Willson saved two set points and rallied from a 5-4 deficit to earn a 7-5 victory. The win gave CdM a 5-1 sets lead after the first round.

Willson also had to keep her calm late in the set. She got openly frustrated when Kam challenged her “out” call of an overhead, and also because she felt Kam was taking too much time between points.

“I usually get upset and not take it the best way,” Willson said. “[CdM Coach] Jamie [Gresh] told me to just keep my momentum going and try to be mentally tough so I could pull that through. She was taking more time, just trying to mess with my head, because I obviously don’t like that. But I kind of fought through that, I guess.”

Gresh credited all of his starters for their strong play. At No. 1 doubles, senior Erica Chen and junior Camellia Edalat earned a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 sweep. Chen and Edalat have lost just one set this season. Freshmen Shaya Northrup and Bella McKinney won once at No. 3 doubles, but even their play impressed University Coach John Kessler.

Kessler was not necessarily surprised with the result of the match. His Trojans (7-2, 2-1), ranked No. 6 in Division 1, lost six starters from last year’s team that advanced to the Division 1 title match for the third straight year. Four players were lost to graduation, and two seniors decided not to return to the team.

Still, he gave credit to the Sea Kings.

“Jamie’s done a great job,” Kessler said. “Their doubles, right down to the freshmen at [No.] 3, they were still going for their balls even when they were losing. They were still hitting their shots. Regardless of where Uni is, who cares? They have a good team. They deserve to win this match. The score is exactly what it should be.”

Anja Seng and Kayla Augustin won twice in doubles for University, which got one singles win by Kam and one doubles win by its top team of Michelle Maddox and Ashlyn Wang. Prior to Thursday’s match, Kessler said Maddox and Wang were undefeated this season.

Kessler knows the streak reflects well on his program, but it had to end at some point. CdM had won 11 straight Pacific Coast League titles through 2009, before the Trojans began their run.

“It’s kind of ironic that we stop CdM, and then they stop ours,” Kessler said. “I think we have been the two class teams, really, of Orange County. The longevity of our streak, I think it says something about our program. But then the thing that can’t get lost about today is, I think Jamie’s done one hell of a job.

“Is this a classic CdM team? It’s not, but who is classic? Tennis has gone down. Where have you seen the depth of a classic CdM girls’ team? You haven’t. Maybe [Peninsula] the last couple of years. But having said that, this is one damn good team, wouldn’t you say?”

The Sea Kings believe they’re good. They finished off their third match day in a row, including a 13-5 win over Beckman on Tuesday and a 17-1 win over Los Alamitos on Wednesday, playing some of their best tennis against a rival.

“It was great getting a win against them before we’re gone next year,” Sharf said.

Corona del Mar plays host to Northwood on Tuesday and travels to The Tennis Club for a match with Sage Hill on Wednesday. The second league meeting with University is at CdM on Oct. 20.