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Santa Margarita Waltzes to Victory, Prom

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

With prom looming a few hours away, Santa Margarita boys’ tennis team made fast work of El Dorado Thursday in the second round of the Southern Section Division II playoffs and then quickly made their way home to don tuxedos and pick up their dates.

The second-seeded Eagles (18-3) didn’t let El Dorado’s undefeated record and No. 4 ranking in Orange County deter them from the job at hand. The Eagles took a 4-2 lead after one round and 9-3 at the end of two. Dan Deen and Jason Walsh clinched the victory quickly in Round 3 with a 6-0 victory over John Brubock and Aaron Bramel.

“It was a good day, but we are going to need to play a lot better to advance further in the playoffs,” Santa Margarita Coach Doug Williams said.

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On paper Santa Margarita couldn’t look a lot better. The Eagles won eight of nine singles matches, and six in doubles. Their one loss in singles was Andrew Tsu’s first-round match against Michael Peng, in which he lost a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5). Tsu won his final two sets 6-1, 6-0.

In doubles the Eagles got sweeps from their top two teams. Andy Larson and Garrick Gaffney won 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 and Dan Deen and Jason Walsh, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0.

Part of Santa Margarita’s success in the playoffs can be credited to the tough schedule the Eagles play during the season. They played Woodbridge and Corona del Mar in league play, as well as numerous top county teams, including Aliso Niguel, Esperanza, Laguna Beach, University and Villa Park. Santa Margarita’s three losses this season came against top-seeded Woodbridge (two) and fourth-seeded Corona del Mar (one), both Division I teams.

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“I know what [playing a hard schedule] has done for us,” Williams said. “We’ve been exposed to high-powered teams all season. We played a number of top 10 teams so we knew what to expect today.”

El Dorado finished the season 21-1. Santa Margarita will visit Claremont, a 10-8 winner over Villa Park, in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.

In other Division II matches:

Sunny Hills 16, Murrieta Valley 2--Shail Vyas and Jimmy Chu won at No. 3 doubles, 6-1, 6-0, 6-0, for visiting Sunny Hills (17-3), which swept in doubles.

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In Division I:

Aliso Niguel 11, Dana Hills 7--Jason Mednick and Chris Kan won two of three singles as No. 7 Aliso Niguel (18-2) upset No. 2 Dana Hills (17-3). Mednick won, 6-1, 6-4, and Kan won, 6-0, 6-3.

Brandon Fallon, the No. 1 singles player for Dana Hills, won, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1. Aliso Niguel advances to take on Woodbridge Tuesday in the quarterfinal round.

Corona del Mar 13, Moreno Valley Valley View 5--Greg Coleman and Cameron Taylor swept in doubles, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2, for Corona del Mar (14-7).

Raza Jahangiri and Sameer Choppa also swept in doubles, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1, for Corona del Mar.

Woodbridge 14, Los Alamitos 4--David Lingman and Adam Artunian swept, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 1 and No. 2 singles for top-ranked Woodbridge (22-0). Los Alamitos finishes the season, 18-2, with both losses coming to Woodbridge.

In Division III:

Servite 11, Troy 7--Ryan Moore swept in singles, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, to lead Servite (20-2).

Garden Grove 15, Brea Olinda 3--Alex Iha Huy Le won, 6-0, 7-5, 6-0, at No. 1 doubles and Bryan Tran and Jason Choi won, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 2 doubles for visiting Garden Grove (19-3).

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