Corona del Mar beats San Marino, back in CIF Division 1 semifinal

The Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team sang “Happy birthday” to senior Emily Freyman after Monday’s match, before presenting her with a chocolate cake.

Freyman celebrated her 18th birthday with a victory, subbing in for the third round against San Marino to earn a doubles win with freshman Lauren Friedman.

The fact that CdM coach Jamie Gresh was able to substitute in the third round of a CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoff quarterfinal match was telling. The Sea Kings had little trouble with the visiting Titans, earning a 13-5 victory to set up what should be a much more competitive semifinal match.

Top-seeded CdM (21-0) will play host to No. 4-seeded Arcadia (22-0) on Wednesday at 2 p.m., with a berth in the Division 1 title match on the line. CdM is making its fifth straight semifinal appearance, in itself an impressive streak. But the Sea Kings have not made the final since 2008.

Senior singles player Danielle Willson, a four-year starter who recently verbally committed to USC, believes this year’s Sea Kings are ready to end that drought. Last year, she was one of six players on the current team who experienced heartbreak, losing 9-9 (77-73 on games) in the semifinals to Studio City Harvard-Westlake.

“I’m excited, as usual,” Willson said. “I think there’s a little bit more of a spark of excitement this year, just because of how deep our team is and how far I believe we can go. I think last year showed just how much we actually care about it. Having more people on the team that are excited to play and compete, that’s exciting to me. I believe we can win it. We’re stronger and deeper.”

The Pacific Coast League champion Sea Kings showed that depth against Rio Hondo League champion San Marino (12-4). The Titans got an impressive singles sweep from sophomore Anessa Lee against CdM’s stacked lineup. Lee beat Annika Bassey, Willson and Kristina Evloeva by scores of 6-2, 6-4 and 7-5.

“That’s a feat,” San Marino coach Melwin Pereira said. “I expected her to get two [sets], but she played well. She was hungry.”

One player can’t overcome this year’s Sea Kings. They took a 5-1 lead after the first round, when senior Brooke Kenerson and Friedman earned a 7-5 win over San Marino’s Sophia Lee and Sabrina Lieu at No. 3 doubles. Lee and Lieu are San Marino’s top doubles team.

Lee twisted her ankle with the set at 5-5, and required an injury timeout. She put on an ankle brace and gamely limped around the court, but San Marino lost the set and fell behind big early.

CdM then won five of six sets in the second round to take a 9-3 lead, clinching the match soon after. Bassey, Willson and Evloeva all won twice against San Marino’s No. 2 and 3 singles players, Kathryn Kirkendall and Kayla Chen.

In doubles, Friedman swept with Kenerson and Freyman, winning 7-5, 6-1, 6-1. Shaya Northrup and Paulina Loredo also swept 6-1, 6-2, 6-0, while Roxy MacKenzie and Bella McKinney won once.

MacKenzie was taken out of the match for precautionary reasons late in the second round with a back injury, but Gresh said that she would be good to go for Wednesday.

Gresh also expects the rest of his team to rise to the occasion. CdM has not had a match closer than 12-6 all season, but like the Sea Kings, Arcadia boasts three good singles players in Michelle Deng, Lauren Ko and Rachelle Yang. Deng and Ko teamed to win the CIF Southern Section Individuals doubles title last year.

“There’s going to be pressure for them, and there’s going to be pressure for us,” Gresh said. “We just need to come out and play to the level that we’re capable of, and enjoy the match. We need to enjoy the struggle and the grind of playing a really good team, and embrace that challenge.

“At the beginning of the year, I told them I feel like we have a unique opportunity to do something special. We’re in the semis, we’re at home, and our own destiny is right in front of us. It’s in our hands, and we just have to grab that opportunity.”

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