The Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team opened Sunset League play at rival Newport Harbor on Tuesday afternoon.
The Battle of the Bay meeting came relatively early in the season. It was one-sided, but passion remained for both sides deep into the match, as Newport Harbor’s Lily Roman and Lyla Henderson battled Corona del Mar substitutes Giulia Fontana and Olivia Lew in the final doubles set completed.
Fontana and Lew rallied for a 7-5 win, keeping Corona del Mar’s slate perfect for the match.
The Sea Kings swept to an 18-0 victory to start their quest for a third straight league title.
Newport Harbor singles player Kendall McGuire, runs down a forehand volley against Corona del Mar on Tuesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
CdM seniors Emilie Lew and Polina Briggs, as well as sophomore Julia Cross, all earned singles sweeps and combined to win 54 of 58 games they played.
“We were super-confident coming in, as a team,” Emilie Lew said. “We think we have good chemistry as a team this year, because many of our girls are tournament players. We prepared well this whole entire week for this match. We know it’s Battle of the Bay, so it’s one of the bigger matches this year and it brings more of an audience. We were just excited to have high energy on the court today and dominate.”
Doubles play featured more close sets, but CdM (4-0) still came out on top in all of them. Freshmen Addie DiNicola and Sienna Lynn won twice at No. 1 doubles, as did seniors Sasha Briggs and Isabel Roytman at No. 2 doubles, as well as sophomore Madi Jackson and freshman Brynn Patterson on the No. 3 line.
Corona Del Mar doubles player Maggie Kirkowski runs down a deep ball as she plays in Battle of the Bay girls’ tennis match at Newport Harbor on Tuesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Substitutes came through in doubles in the last round for the Sea Kings, with Maggie Kirkowski and Michelle Nguyen, as well as Gigi French and Eliza Jensen, also securing wins.
Overall, CdM has four senior starters, three freshmen and two sophomores. It’s a solid mix of experience and youth after last year’s team, which advanced to the CIF Southern Section Open Division semifinals before losing to top-seeded eventual champion Palos Verdes, graduated just one senior starter in Eden Clark.
“We have a very good team vibe right now,” CdM coach Jamie Gresh said. “The girls are looking forward to every match. Based on making the semis last year, I think they’re trying to make semis again this year and see if they can do one better and make the final.”
Newport Harbor doubles players Lyla Henderson and Lily Roman, from left, from celebrate a point against CdM on Tuesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Newport Harbor (1-5) is led by a first-year coach who prepped on the other side of the bay. CdM graduate Cameron Ball, class of 2001, is now in charge and assisted by his father, Syd, a former pro from Australia who won seven career doubles titles in the professional tour.
Carsten Ball, Cameron’s younger brother and another former CdM tennis standout who was once ranked No. 108 in the world, is coaching the Sailors’ junior varsity team.
“We came out looking at it as a learning opportunity today, looking at it as something to grow from,” Cameron Ball said of Tuesday’s match. “I told the girls, we only lose if we didn’t learn anything … You wouldn’t get to play one of those girls regularly. They wouldn’t come practice with you or any of that, from a level standpoint.
Corona del Mar’s Guilia Fontana hits a serve against Newport Harbor on Tuesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
“To get out there and see a better ball, that’s a win for our girls. I’m pumped for that. It doesn’t matter, the win or loss. Getting to see something that you wouldn’t normally see, that’s a win.”
Roman, a senior committed to Emerson College, got to switch it up from her normal No. 1 singles position and play in doubles. She’s one of five senior starters for the Sailors, a list that also includes Kaylin Messinger, the doubles team of Lucy Perraud and Alex Welbourn and Mia Jarrett.
“We showed spirit the whole way, and that’s the idea,” Cameron Ball said. “I’m proud of all of the girls for that … All of the seniors have stepped up and taken turns, holding the baton with [their leadership].”
CdM played at rival University on Wednesday in a nonleague match, returning home to face Los Alamitos on Thursday in continued league action. Newport Harbor plays at Huntington Beach on Thursday.
Corona del Mar’s Polina Briggs competes in the Battle of the Bay girls’ tennis match against Newport Harbor on Tuesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)