CdM wins on games

It is not often that the Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team plays a team that can match the Sea Kings in doubles.

But Wednesday was one of those days.

Visiting Dana Hills dominated in doubles in the nonleague match. But CdM did enough in singles to avoid the upset and earn the win, 9-9 and 88-66 on games.

The match had began on Sept. 9 and was tied 3-3 before it was postponed due to rain. The teams resumed play from that point on Wednesday, completing the final two rounds.

A loss to Dana Hills (10-4), ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll, could have hurt No. 2 CdM (15-1) in the rankings. As it is, a close win may do that too.

“Hopefully this won’t hurt us,” CdM Coach Jamie Gresh said. “I haven’t even thought that far. We have Northwood [Thursday on the road], and we need to pick up a win there [to clinch the outright Pacific Coast League title].”

Gresh made a couple of changes in doubles from his previous lineup against Dana Hills, inserting sophomore Brooke Kenerson at No. 2 doubles to play with her older sister, senior Paige Kenerson. And Emily Freyman, a sophomore, went in at No. 3 doubles to play with freshman Shaya Northrup.

But the Dolphins were not phased, winning five of the six doubles sets completed Wednesday. Only CdM’s No. 1 team of Camellia Edalat and Erica Chen could earn a win, beating Dana Hills’ No. 3 team of Caroline Halloran and Tatum Phillips, 6-3. But Dana Hills’ No. 1 team of Ayla Fresenius and Emilia Gorczyca, as well as the No. 2 team of Dana Mackensen and Jacklyn Melkonian, each won twice.

Overall, Dana Hills won four different doubles sets by a 6-4 score, and one via tiebreaker.

“Their doubles girls just outperformed us, and they won five out of six doubles sets [today],” Gresh said. “Obviously, their lineup is strong, but regardless, I think we need to do a little bit better job of competing and making some adjustments, figuring out some of their strategies. I just felt like maybe we were making some of the same errors again and again, so we need to do a little bit better job of problem-solving.

“I feel like we played conservative doubles and they played more assertive, attacking doubles. Instead of making the adjustment so we could get on the offense, we just tried to play better defense. We were just kind of backing up and backing up, instead of going forward and trying to take their tactics away from them.”

CdM, coming off a big 12-6 win over rival University on Tuesday, did play well in singles. Junior Jasie Dunk completed a sweep with a 6-1 victory over Courtney Swift, the Dolphins’ top singles player, and a 6-0 win over Drae Fresenius. Sophomore Danielle Willson and senior Siena Sharf each won twice in singles in the match for CdM, which won seven singles sets overall.

Dunk had played in doubles with Chen on Tuesday against Uni, as she battled sickness.

“Today, I came out feeling a little better I think, but since I wasn’t feeling well I felt extra pressure to play well and be up at [Swift’s] level,” Dunk said. “I think that’s what got me through this set. In tournaments and stuff, I’ve lost to her before.”

CdM earned a 9-6 lead heading into the final three doubles sets, but Dana Hills won all three. Fresenius and Gorczyca topped Northrup and Freyman, 6-3, and Halloran and Phillips got past the Kenerson sisters, 6-4. Then, in the final set completed, Mackensen and Melkonian edged Edalat and Chen, 6-4, handing CdM’s No. 1 duo just its third defeat of the season.

However, the close losses in doubles and dominant wins in singles gave CdM a games cushion that was more than enough.

“They came out with a lot of energy,” Dana Hills Coach Justin Green said of his players, who earned a big 10-8 South Coast League win against San Clemente on Tuesday that will likely cause a shared league title between the two schools. “Obviously, we had a big win yesterday and they didn’t let down at all ... Our doubles is clearly our strength, and I feel like all our doubles teams are pretty equal. We’re just one set away.”

Gresh knows that his team has played a challenging schedule, facing off against six of the other top 10 teams in Division 1. Just this week, CdM played No. 8 University on Tuesday, No. 9 Dana Hills on Wednesday and now No. 10 Northwood on Thursday.

The Sea Kings then conclude Pacific Coast League play with a match at Irvine on Monday.

They have already clinched at least a share of their first league title since 2009.

“I think my girls are up to the test,” Gresh said. “I like our schedule the way it is. I feel like it gets your girls playing better, and you either rise up or you shrink down.”