Miraleste Singles Players Overcome P.V. in Tennis Playoff

The sun had set Thursday afternoon, but Miraleste High emerged from the darkness to advance to its eighth consecutive appearance in the Southern Section 4-A tennis finals by beating Palos Verdes, 10-8, at Palos Verdes.

Miraleste (15-2) plays Corona del Mar, 14-4 victor Thursday over Estancia, on Tuesday at the Claremont Club to determine the 4-A champion. Miraleste lost to Corona Del Mar in last year’s final. Palos Verdes finished this season at 14-3.

With Miraleste leading 9-8 and the courts in almost absolute darkness, Miraleste’s Christa Hanson beat Melanie Fountain, 5-4, in an emotional tie-breaker to win the match for the Marauders. Hanson swept her three sets on the day.

Fountain played the entire set with a bad cramp in her right leg. “Melanie could have quit, but she fought the whole way,” Palos Verdes Coach Kathy Ross said. “She showed me a lot of character.”

The score was tied 3-3 after the first round and 6-6 after the second. Miraleste entered the final round with only one doubles victory, but Darcy Sepko and Sonia Lee won their only set of the day and that would ultimately give the Marauders the winning margin.

“We won eight singles sets,” Miraleste Coach Jim Hanson said. “That was very important.” Fountain was the only Palos Verdes player to win a singles set, beating Laura Bak-Boychuk, 6-4, in the second round.

Palos Verdes’ No. 1 player, Sheila Moore, was shut out for the first time this season.

Christa Hanson’s sister Erica swept her singles sets, allowing only two games to be won off her the whole day.

“We played tough,” Ross said. “My girls lost, but they lost with class.”