CdM maintains momentum

Bryce Alderton

Stacking the doubles side of the boys tennis draw worked only so long

for visiting Peninsula High against Corona del Mar. After capturing

all three doubles sets in the first round of play, the Sea Kings (6-0

and ranked No. 1 by the Times) gave the Panthers a taste of their own

medicine to post a 12-6 nonleague victory Wednesday at CdM High.

Peninsula (7-1) came into the match ranked No. 7 by the Times, and

initially, gave the Sea Kings some trouble on the doubles side.

“I knew (Peninsula Coach Mike Hoeger) would load the doubles side

against us and that scared me,” said CdM Coach Tim Mang. “When our

first doubles team beat their No. 3 team, I was just hoping more came

after that.”

CdM’s No. 1 doubles team consisted of junior Brennan Roberts and

sophomore Wesley Miller. The duo dropped their first set, 5-7, to

Peninsula’s Trevor Dobson and Keiso Fukugaki before gaining their

composure and winning the next two sets, 6-3 and 6-4.

CdM’s No. 3 team of seniors Bryan Warsaw and Issei Saida came on

strong midway through the second game after having dropped the first.

Warsaw and Saida trailed, 4-0, to Peninsula’s Mike Guice and Jason

Dauer before staging a mild comeback before the Panther duo

prevailed, 6-4. But Warsaw and Saida gained momentum from the second

game and high-fived each other with exalted shouts in their 6-0 run

through Dobson and Fukugaki.

“I felt ready in the third (game) and didn’t want to stop the

momentum,” said Saida, whom his teammates call, “Ice.”

“We play better when we get hyped up,” Warsaw said.

Miller and Roberts played together for the first time this year.

“We were more steady and hit the ball better in the last two

games,” Miller said. “We also served better.”

“They could have won three today,” Mang said of Miller and

Roberts. “They had to refine a few things in the third set and get

that experience under pressure.”

Peninsula provided the Sea Kings with their stiffest competition

so far of the young season, according to CdM senior Garrett Snyder,

who rolled through his opponents at No. 1 singles Wednesday, 6-3,

6-1, 6-2.

“It was a challenge today,” said Snyder, who will play for the

University of Texas next season and is ranked No. 34 in the United

States Tennis Association’s 18-year-old division. “I knew he couldn’t

hurt me if I played my game.” Snyder is referring to Peninsula’s No.

1 singles player, Whitney Reed.

Sophomores Carsten Ball and Spencer Reitz swept each of their

singles matches as well. Reitz came on strong against Reed, breaking

his serve to even it, 2-2, before going on to a 6-3 triumph.

“Reitz did a great job today,” Mang said. “He ran all over the

place.”

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Nonleague

CdM 12, Peninsula 6

Singles -- Snyder (CdM), def. Reed, 6-3, def. Miyawaki, 6-1; def. Rauol, 6-2; Ball (CdM), won, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2; Reitz (CdM), won, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. Doubles -- Roberts-Miller (CdM), lost to Dobson-Fukugaki, 5-7; def. Guice-Dauer, 6-3; def. Hsu-Comstock, 6-4;

Gingold-Pham (CdM), lost, 3-6, 1-6, 0-6; Warsaw-Saida (CdM), lost, 2-6, 4-6, won, 6-0

*--*