Sea Kings rally past Mustangs

The pressure cooker that is girls’ high school tennis has turned up the flame a bit this season with the addition of a new scoring rule designed to shorten matches.

On Wednesday, it was Corona del Mar High that held up best when pressed against the fire, to help secure a crucial 11-7 nonleague victory over visiting Mira Costa.

The Sea Kings (12-1), ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, surely didn’t hurt their standing in the poll by knocking off the No. 2-ranked Mustangs (12-2) and winning their ninth straight match.

But where they will end up in next week’s poll is uncertain, in light of No. 4-ranked Campbell Hall upsetting top-ranked Peninsula on Monday.

Uncertainty enveloped the Sea Kings on Wednesday, as the Mustangs seized a 4-2 lead after the first round.

But CdM Coach Jamie Gresh challenged his singles lineup to step up in the final two rounds and they proceeded to win five of six sets to help make the difference.

Junior Jasie Dunk, playing at No. 2 singles, heeded the message best on her way to sweeping her three sets. In the second round, she squared off against Mira Costa No. 1 player Amy Gaal, who was playing up due to the absence of the Mustangs’ top singles player, freshman Taylor Johnson.

Dunk was down, 3-2, before winning two straight and held a 5-4 lead when the 10th game wound up going to the deuce-plus-one rule that creates an instant set point after the second deuce of each game.

Dunk, who scored a point to create the first deuce, then lost a point at ad-in to bring about the second deuce, executed a series of volleys to win the “plus-one point” and claim the set.

Combined with a 7-5 second-round victory by the CdM No. 1 doubles tandem of senior Erica Chen and junior Camellia Edalat, what had been a 5-5 match deadlock became a 7-5 Sea Kings lead heading into the final round.

“I thought [CdM] competed better as the day went on,” Gresh said. “Being down, 2-4, was maybe a little surprising and our No. 1 doubles team lost for only the second time all season, which was a little concerning. But then to be able to go up, 7-5, was critical. At 5-5, [Chen and Edalat] were down, 5-4, and [Mira Costa’s No. 3 team of Madi Giese and Jackie Solomon] was serving for the set. Then, [Chen and Edalat] won three straight games and Jasie’s win was the big one. We could have been down, 7-5, or tied, 6-6, so to win both of those showed the mental toughness of our girls.”

Gresh said he has come to expect mental toughness from Dunk, who won her other sets, 6-1, 6-0.

“That was a hard-fought set at a critical point in the match,” Gresh said of Dunk’s 6-4 triumph over Gaal, who topped CdM’s No. 1 players, sophomore Danielle Willson, 6-2, in the first round. “I think Jasie played really smart, tactically, and she was very mentally tough when she needed to be. I think Jasie really focuses well in the bigger moments. She kind of switches into that extra gear, and she has gotten better and better at that. She has also been playing with more variety, attacking when she needs to and then playing smart and defending when she has to.”

Dunk attributed her clutch play to being able to relax.

“[Gaal] was ranked higher than me [in the junior rankings], so going into it, I had nothing to lose,” Dunk said. “I was the underdog, so I think I just played really freely and pulled it out. This match was huge for us, because everything is scrambled right now [at the top of the rankings]. For us to beat Mira Costa will hopefully push us to No. 2.”

Willson earned 6-0, 6-3 wins over the Mustangs’ Nos. 2 and 3 players, respectively, while Siena Sharf, a senior in CdM’s No. 3 spot, earned 6-1, 6-0 triumphs over the Nos. 2 and 3 spots.

Edalat and Chen won two of three sets, while the No. 2 tandem of Brooke Kenerson and Emily Freyman, as well as the No. 3 freshmen duo of Shaya Northrup and Bella McKinney, each won one set for the Sea Kings.

Kenerson, a sophomore returning after being sidelined by an injury, benefited from some unselfishness by her sister, senior Paige Kenerson. The two sisters opened the match at No. 2 doubles, but Gresh said he had planned to substitute Freyman for Brooke after the first round.

“I made that move, but Paige came to me and said Brooke was playing better than she was and that if I was going to take anyone out, it should be her,” Gresh said. “I asked, ‘Are you sure?’ and she said ‘Yes, keep Brooke in with Emily.’ It was a very selfless thing to do and I thought it was pretty remarkable.”