CdM girls’ tennis ready for SoCal Regionals

Three days after winning a CIF Southern Section Division 1 title, Corona del Mar High coach Jamie Gresh said he gave his girls’ tennis team Monday off from practice.

Then it was back to work. The Sea Kings are still motivated, as they’re competing in the CIF USTA Southern California Regionals at the Claremont Club on Friday.

“They’re ready to take on this next challenge,” Gresh said. “They’re ready to finish strong. The success that they’ve had has driven them even more, to finish out the season with another title at the regionals.”

The Sea Kings (23-0) are the No. 2 seed in the eight-team tournament, behind top-seeded defending champion San Diego Torrey Pines. The Sea Kings open the tournament against Clovis North, the CIF Central Section Division 1 champion, at 10:45 a.m. Friday. A win, and CdM would play either Palos Verdes Peninsula or San Diego Canyon Crest in a regional semifinal at 1:45 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Sea Kings beat Peninsula 12-6 in a nonleague match on Sept. 19. The Panthers lost by the same score to University in the Division 1 semifinals, but they were without the services of star freshman Kimmi Hance in that match as she was training in Florida. Gresh said Hance is expected back for the regional tournament.

CdM, led by Danielle Willson, Annika Bassey and Kristina Evloeva in singles, has never won the Southern California Regionals, only advancing as far as the semifinals. The format is four singles sets and three doubles sets, so teams start 10 players total, one more than in a normal high school dual match.

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CIF USTA Southern California Regional Championships

When: Friday and Saturday. Regional semifinals are scheduled for 1:45 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. on Friday, with the title match at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Where: The Claremont Club (1777 Monte Vista Ave., Claremont, CA 91711)

Fan info: Admission is free. Torrey Pines is the top seed and the defending champion.

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