Breakers collect much-needed victory

NEWPORT BEACH ? Newport Beach Breakers Coach Dick Leach said it was nice to have his workhorse back in the stable Saturday night.

But it was the efforts of two other players that helped the Breakers burst from the starting gate on their way to a 22-18 World Team Tennis victory over the New York Buzz at the Palisades Tennis Club.

“The women were the key,” Leach said of Anastassia Rodionova and Tina Krizan, who opened with a 5-4 victory in doubles, claiming the final set by winning a first-to-five tiebreaker, 5-4.

Rodionva then earned a 5-2 singles win over New York standout Viktoriya Kutuzova to help put the Breakers in control.

“Coming into tonight, [Rodionova and Krizan] were ranked 10th in a 12-team league in singles and doubles,” Leach said. “I told them before the match that they were too good for that. They have talent, they just had to go out and play better.”

Advice taken.

“Together, they were plus-four [giving Newport Beach a 10-6 lead after two sets, a tally of every game to that point],” said Leach, who was particularly impressed with the showing of Rodionova.

“For Anastassia to beat [Kutuzova], 5-2, was impressive,” Leach said. “[Kutuzova, a 17-year-old from Ukraine] is the real deal. I saw her play Lindsay [Davenport] recently and it was 4-4 in the third set. It was close.”

The Buzz (2-6) then proceeded to make things close with wins in mixed doubles and men’s doubles.

Scott Lipsky, a 24-year-old Huntington Beach resident who played collegiately at Stanford, unleashed a booming serve to help earn the two doubles wins.

Lipsky paired with Julie Ditty, then Kutuzova (who substituted in) to defeat Rick Leach and Krizan, 5-3, in mixed doubles.

Lipsky teamed with KC Corkery to hand Rick Leach and Ramon Delgado a 5-4 setback in men’s doubles.

That set was decided on a tiebreaker, in which the Buzz led, 4-1, only to see the Breakers rally to force a deciding point.

On the final point of the tiebreaker, a top-spin lob by Lipsky bounded just inside the baseline and and away from a retreating Leach.

Lipsky carried the Buzz duo, as Corkery double-faulted four times and made just 31% of his first serves. Corkery won just 23 points in the entire match, compared to a team-high 64 for Lipsky.

But after a little R & R (Rick and Ramon) failed to lock up the victory for the Breakers, Delgado’s return after missing two matches with a foot injury, proved valuable in the final men’s singles set.

“It was great to have Ramon back,” Dick Leach said.

Delgado was taken aback early by Lipsky’s pyrotechnic serve.

Lipsky recorded aces on his first two serves of the set, though Delgado held twice to earn a 2-1 advantage. Lipskey posted six aces in the match.

In the fourth game, Delgado dialed up his return of serve and broke Lipsky, 4-2.

“I think Ramon wore [Lipsky] down,” Dick Leach said. “[Lipsky] isn’t the quickest guy on the court and I know he didn’t want to run with Ramon. So he was going for that big serve.”

Delgado then continued to hold serve, finishing off an important win for the Breakers (3-4). Newport Beach is now tied for fourth place in the six-team Western Conference, which is led by Sacramento (7-0).

“We needed this win and we need to win [tonight],” Dick Leach said.

The Breakers conclude a stretch of six home dates in seven matches tonight against the Springfield Lasers, coached by Trevor Kronemann, hired recently to coach the men’s team at UC Irvine, his alma mater.

The Breakers were defeated by the Lasers, 21-20, in the season opener, July 6 in Missouri.

Delgado paced the Breakers with 52 points in the match, followed by 49 from Rodionova.

Rick Leach and Trizan scored 46 points each.

Regardless of their regular-season record, the Breakers are assured at least a wild-card berth into the postseason, which will be in Newport in late July.Credit: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT Caption: Breakers’ Coach Dick Leach applauds his team’s effort. dpt-breakers.BGraphicInfoPD1T06GU20060716PD1T06GUCredit: Caption: (LA) dpt.16-wtt-3-BPhotoInfoPD1T05L820060716j2hc1gncCredit: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA)Newport Beach Breakers’ Anastassia Rodionova won in women’s singles and teamed with Tina Krizan to win in women’s doubles to help the Breakers post a 22-18 World Team Tennis triumph over the New York Buzz Saturday night at Palisades Tennis Club. dpt.16-wtt-5-BPhotoInfoPD1T05NV20060716j2hc4gncCredit: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA)Newport Beach Breakers’ Anastassia Rodionova won in women’s singles and teamed with Tina Krizan to win in women’s doubles to help the Breakers post a 22-18 World Team Tennis triumph over the New York Buzz Saturday night at Palisades Tennis Club.