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Corona del Mar’s girls tennis team overcame weather delays, the absence of its coach and a strong opponent to capture its first CIF-SS title since 2019.
Senior Polina Briggs swept at singles and senior Emilie Lew and sophomore Julia Cross each won twice as the top-seeded Sea Kings defeated No. 2 Portola 10-8 in the Division 1 final at the University of Redlands on Wednesday.
The girls tennis team championships, originally scheduled for Nov. 14, were pushed back several days because of a strong storm that drenched Southern California.
Corona del Mar (21-0) played Wednesday without veteran coach Jamie Gresh, who was recovering from hip surgery on Tuesday. He praised assistant Tyler Gaede for guiding the team in his absence.
“(He) did an amazing job,” Gresh said.
While Corona del Mar earned seven points in singles, it claimed three vital points in doubles.
Freshman Brynn Patterson and sophomore Madi Jackson collected two wins and the team of seniors Sasha Briggs and Isabel Roytman added one.
Portola (17-3) racked up six points at doubles. The Bulldogs’ pairs of Alycia Lee-Sarah Sumida, Payton Nguyen-Emily Roman and Evelyn Wang-Shailikunverba Chudasama each won matches.
The final score was slightly closer than the 11-8 victory Corona del Mar posted in the teams’ early-season match season on Sept. 3.
“So exciting,” Portola coach Natasha Schottland said. “Such a bummer not to have Jamie there but great energy, top-notch performances on both teams and it came down to the third round, which is what a final should be.”
Corona del Mar and Portola could collide again this weekend at the CIF SoCal Regional at The Claremont Club.
The event, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, also includes Mater Dei and Mira Costa from the Southern Section.
The other entries are Palisades, San Diego’s Del Norte and Canyon Crest and Stockdale from the Central Section.
Last season, Portola lost to undefeated Palos Verdes in the section and regional championships.
In other finals Wednesday at The Claremont Club:
In Division 6:
Village Christian 10, Villa Park 8: Junior Anika Guniganti swept at singles and the doubles pair of Eve Benson and Emily Nguyen won twice to lead the Spartans (11-8).
In Division 7:
Oakwood of North Hollywood 12, Laguna Hills 6: Nora Kohan and Alexa Simon swept as Oakwood (15-6) won seven of nine matches at singles to defeat the Hawks (11-6). Laguna Hills’ doubles teams of Arielle Tal-Keira McDermott collected two victories.
In Division 8:
Bishop Diego 9, Santiago 9 (78-71 games): The Cavaliers (9-9) lost 78-71 on games in a final that produced three doubles matches that went to tie-breakers. The doubles pair of Tammy Hua and Emily Dau swept to lead Santiago, which reach its first section final.