CdM clinches share of league title

Bryce Alderton

Corona del Mar High’s doubles team of sophomore Wesley Miller and

partner Issei Saida painted a portrait of efficient, high-caliber

tennis that Coach Tim Mang has seen all too often during an

undefeated season so far.

Miller and Saida -- CdM’s No. 1 doubles team for Thursday’s

Pacific Coast League match against visiting University -- disposed of

the first team they faced, 6-0, in 20 minutes, setting a commanding

tone repeated sporadically throughout CdM’s 12-6 triumph, which gave

the hosts at least a share of the league title with Northwood.

CdM (18-0, 7-0 in league) wraps up league play when it travels to

Northwood (5-1 in league) for a match Mang said is scheduled for

Thursday, but one he is trying to move to Monday. Northwood plays

University, which won the league last year en route to winning the

CIF Southern Section Division II championship, on Tuesday.

Miller and Saida displayed tennis worthy of a championship in

their first set Thursday.

“We hit everything hard,” Miller said about the set he and Saida

lost only two points in. “That’s the best we’ve ever played

together.”

Mang concurred.

“That’s the best they have played this year, if only they could

have kept it up,” he said.

Senior Garrett Snyder, CdM’s No. 1 singles player bound for the

University of Texas, swept his three sets Thursday, defeating

University’s Jack Li, 6-3. Li was 20-3 entering Thursday’s match

while Snyder has only lost once this season -- to Troy’s Jeff Das in

a grueling three-set match in the semifinals of the Ojai Valley

Tennis Tournament last weekend.

Snyder recorded numerous aces against Li, eliciting a response

from second-year University Coach John Kessler.

“Wow, that was unbelievable,” Kessler said of Snyder’s serves,

which rocketed off his racket and found various parts of the service

box. “Those are some big serves.”

“[Snyder] is getting stronger,” Mang said as he walked by Kessler.

Snyder said his serve is now around 110 to 115 mph, a 5-mph increase from the beginning of the year. He credits the added

velocity to working with a personal trainer two days a week for the

past six months.

“I work on weight training, endurance and on the tennis court a

lot,” Snyder said.

After the match with Li, Snyder didn’t lose a game to his other

two opponents.

Sophomore Spencer Reitz took two of three sets at No. 2 singles

for CdM while Nicholas Gingold won one set.

Miller and Saida took two of three doubles sets, as did the rest

of CdM’s doubles teams that included the tandem of junior Brennan

Roberts and senior Bryan Warsaw along with sophomores Carsten Ball

and Alex Nguyen.

Mang used Ball and Nguyen as his No. 3 team Thursday and they gave

University’s Matt Chou and Michael Haier a scare.

Chou and Haier -- each a part of University’s team which won the

CIF Southern Section Division II championship last year -- normally

play singles, but Kessler teamed up the two Thursday and they

produced a sweep.

Nguyen and Ball led, 6-5, but University (6-9, 3-3), which lost

seven seniors from last season, held serve to force a tiebreaker won

by Haier and Chou, 7-5.

“I tried to keep it in, but missed some easy volleys,” Nguyen

said. “University tied it up and then took over in the tiebreaker.”

Nguyen moved up into the varsity top 10 at the end of last season

and is slowly climbing the ranks, learing along the way.

“Seeing the way [Ball] plays, I can learn stuff from him and,

hopefully, that makes me better,” Nguyen said of playing with Ball

for the first time this season. He usually plays with Gingold.

Miller and Saida, on the contrary, have been playing together for

the entire season and faced Haier and Chou in Thursday’s final

doubles set. The University duo prevailed, 6-3, in what Mang said was

most likely for the top seeding when league finals begin at Laguna

Beach in a week-and-a-half.

“That’s a good doubles team,” Mang said of Chou and Haier. “They

played together last year. We needed to be more aggressive, which you

have to be against good teams like Uni. Garrett was good as usual.”

The Sea Kings have won two other matches this season by 12-6

counts -- to Peninsula and Beverly Hills, ranked No. 2 and No. 4 in

CIF Division I, respectively. Every other match has been by a margin

greater than 12-6.

Snyder, who won his second straight CIF doubles title with Ball

last season, said he plans to play only singles this year as CdM

continues its quest for a Division I championship.

“We’re deep and no one has really challenged us so far,” Snyder

said. “We have a great team, but it won’t be easy.”

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Pacific Coast League

CdM 12, University 6 Singles -- Snyder (CdM) def. Li, 6-3, def Gordon, 6-0, def. Thomas, 6-0; Reitz (CdM) lost, 0-6, won, 6-0, 6-1; Gingold (CdM) lost, 0, 4-6, won, 6-2. Doubles -- Miller-Saida (CdM) def. Mok-Yoo, 6-0; lost to Haier, 3-6, def. Vaughn-Furukawa, 6-3;

Warsaw-Roberts (CdM) won, 6-2, lost, 1-6, won, 6-2; Ball-Nguyen (CdM) won, 6-2, lost, 6-7 (5-7), won, 6-0

*--*