Girls’ Tennis: Sharf, Dunk fall in CIF-SS quarterfinals
SEAL BEACH — After it was over, Corona del Mar High senior Siena Sharf tried to reflect positively on her high school girls’ tennis career.
CdM junior Jasie Dunk was indignant.
Sophie Bendetti and Emily Ackerman of Oaks Christian? They were a little bit happier.
Bendetti and Ackerman rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win in the CIF Southern Section Individuals tournament quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon at Seal Beach Tennis Center, ending the season for the No. 4-seeded Sharf and Dunk.
CdM sophomore Danielle Willson fell to No. 3-seeded Christie Wan of Sunny Hills, 6-3, 6-1 in the singles round of 16.
Dunk, particularly, was not happy after she and Sharf could not hold 3-1 leads in both the second and third sets, after winning the first set against the Oaks Christian duo.
“We could have won, should have won the whole [tournament],” Dunk said. “I’m just [ticked]. I’m not happy about that at all. We should have won the whole thing. I think so, easily, after this match.”
Sharf and Dunk, the Pacific Coast League champions who beat Rachelle Yang and Angelica Zhou of Arcadia, 6-1, 6-2, in the round of 16 earlier Wednesday, lost momentum.
In both of the final two sets, Oaks Christian won the last five games. Ackerman served out the second set, saving two break points to do so.
Sharf and Dunk broke Bendetti’s serve at love to go up 3-1 in the third, but Sharf’s serve was immediately broken back. With the score 3-3, Dunk could not hold a 40-15 lead in her own service game, as Oaks Christian surged ahead.
“I felt like if we got to 4-3, we were ready to play a good return game,” CdM Coach Jamie Gresh said. “We had just broken Sophie Bendetti in the previous game. But they broke us to go up 4-3, and our bubble got burst a little bit there and they played better. It was just tough to get that momentum back.
“I just think [Oaks Christian] cashed in on some of the bigger points. It’s a tough way to end the season for sure, because I feel like they could have played a little better, and they kind of know that. I feel like they probably feel like they left a little bit out there.”
Bendetti and Ackerman ended the match by breaking Sharf’s serve, as she double-faulted on match point.
“I think it’s good that we stayed aggressive,” Sharf said. “If we just made a few more balls, [the result] would have been the other way around. I think the momentum just shifted.”
For Bendetti and Ackerman, the Marmonte League champions, it was a measure of revenge after Oaks Christian lost to CdM, 12-6, in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. They will move on to play Peninsula’s Sara Khattab and Tia Elpusan in the CIF Individuals semifinals on Thursday, and they are the first Oaks Christian singles player or doubles team to advance to the semifinals in program history.
The match against CdM also seemed to turn as Bendetti, a junior, started making more of her volleys later in the match. Ackerman, a sophomore who swept the Sea Kings in singles in the team playoffs, was her usual steady self.
“I was angry, because that’s usually where I’m comfortable,” Bendetti said of her volley game. “I just kind of fell apart for a little bit, but it’s OK. All wins can’t be pretty. And they also were constantly pushing us, which was impressive. [CdM] played really well too. They didn’t give up at any point, and they were in the match until the end.”
Dunk and Willson will be back next year, but this marked the end of Sharf’s high school career. She was a four-year varsity player.
“I think it was a really good run in Individuals and a good way to end the season and my high school career,” Sharf said. “It was a great way to end the season, and I wouldn’t want to end it with anyone else.”
Willson, meanwhile, had a tough go in singles against Wan, the Freeway League champion. Yet, for her, making it to the round of 16 was an improvement over her round of 32 showing as a freshman.
“She just hit it pretty clean and hard, and it was deep, so it was pretty hard to get back,” Willson said. “I think I did a good job getting here. Obviously, it’s tough playing here [at Seal Beach] because everyone’s really good. But hopefully next year I can get to the semis and we’ll see what happens, keep going up.”
It was the conclusion of a standout season for CdM, which won the Pacific Coast League title for the first time in six years and advanced to the Division 1 semifinals for the third straight year, as well as the CIF USTA Southern California Regional semifinals for the second straight year.
“To have three girls in the round of 16 at Seal Beach, I think that speaks for the program and the level of talent at Corona del Mar High School,” Gresh said. “Obviously it’s not the way they wanted it to end, but I thought those three girls really competed hard all season and played well.”
