PREP TENNIS / SEA VIEW LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Woodbridge Knocks Off Corona del Mar

Maybe it was only temporary, but there was a changing of the guard Thursday at Corona del Mar High. After 10 years of frustration, Woodbridge finally defeated Sea View League rival Corona del Mar, 12-6, in a boys’ tennis match. With the victory, Woodbridge took over first place.

“It’s feels good,� said Woodbridge sophomore Jonny Biorkman, who helped lead the Warriors by sweeping his singles sets, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0. “We’ve been getting our butts kicked by these guys for a long time. I give a lot of credit to Coach (Joan Willett). Everybody’s gunning for us now and she really fired us up for this match.�

Afterward, Willett wasn’t sure how to react to her team’s victory.

“It feels strange,� she said. “In 10 years, you kind of get in the habit.�

But with four freshmen and two sophomores in her lineup, Willett might get in the habit of beating Corona del Mar. Willett also has Biorkman’s younger brother coming in next year. But Tim Mang, Corona del Mar’s coach, said it’s a little early to write his team’s obituary.

“This is not (permanent),� Mang said. “I wouldn’t be out here if I thought that. I’m out here to win. You have to have a down year once in a while. They have five ranked players (in Southern California).�

Two of those players, Chase Exon and Biorkman, were flawless Thursday as they gave the third-ranked Warriors (13-1, 5-0) six of their 12 points. Exon set the tone early by recovering from a 4-3 deficit to defeat Corona del Mar’s John Cappello, 7-5, and give the Warriors a 5-1 first-round lead. Exon, a freshman who has won his last 21 sets, went on to beat James Stauffer, 6-1, and Tyler Stonebreaker, 6-3.

Woodbridge won seven of nine singles sets, but the doubles were closer as the Warriors won only five of nine sets. There was also more tension in the doubles as there were several altercations over line calls.

“They’re always so overconfident against us,� Biorkman said. “But (Thursday), we were just the better team.�

Woodbridge has been the better team all week, defeating No. 1 Dana Hills on Monday, unranked El Toro on Tuesday and now ninth-ranked Corona del Mar (9-4, 4-1).

“I like this team,� Biorkman said. “We have a lot of chemistry and we work really hard.�

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In other Sea View League matches:

Newport Harbor 11, El Toro 7--Sturde Davidson and Todd Summers won their doubles sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, to lead Newport Harbor (2-8, 1-4). El Toro is 0-5 in league.

Santa Margarita 13, Irvine 5--James Young and Dan Deen won No. 1 doubles, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, for Santa Margarita (9-5, 3-2).