By CHRIS TOBOLSKI
OCVarsity staff

Who is No. 1 in Orange County girls tennis this year?

An answer to the county's great debate is near, with the CIF playoffs beginning with Tuesday's wild card rounds.

Dana Hills tennis team

Dana Hills, the defending Division I team champ, is currently ranked No. 2 in the county behind Corona del Mar after the Sea Kings' victory over the Dolphins earlier this season. That triumph came without the Dolphins top player Brynn Boren.

Corona del Mar and Dana Hills are on a collision course once more. The Sea Kings drew the top seed in Division I; the Dolphins the No. 2 seed.

“With Brynn, we are looking solid,” Dolphins coach Mark Spearman said. “We are playing our best tennis right now. We are coming together. We're ready for the playoffs. We have the confidence having done it already.”

If the teams were to reach the finals, the Sea Kings depth at doubles will play a key role. Their top two doubles teams have two combined losses this year – one to the Dolphins and one to each other in the league finals.

Corona del Mar is led by Danielle Kaiden and Lindsey Zotovich, who was undefeated before losing in last week's league finals to teammates Kelli Feeley and Karen Ishii.

“Our doubles teams have been real dominate this year,” Sea Kings coach Brian Ricker said.

It is a mistake for either team to overlook third-seeded Palos Verdes or fourth-seeded Campbell Hall. Campbell is moving up to Division I after winning Division II last year. Palos Verdes lost to the Dolphins in last year's finals.

“Palos Verdes is looking better than they were last year,” Spearman said.

The Dolphins aren't the only county team seeking to repeat. After winning back-to-back titles in Division IV, Valencia is the top seed in Division III. The Tigers open play Thursday against the wild-card winner of West Ranch vs. Paso Robles.

“My philosophy, and I hope it rubs off on the girls,” said Tigers coach Mike McCall, “is that I don't think too far ahead. We take it one at a time. We hope to get better each day.

“We play whoever we come up against. What else can we do? It's out of our control.”

Three other county teams received one of the top two seeds in their respective divisions.

St. Margaret's is the top team in Division IV, while Academy League rival Sage Hill is the second seed. It could be another county score settled in the finals.

In Division V, Ocean View drew the No. 2 seed and hosts the wild-card winner of Marshall vs. Santa Paula on Thursday.

Let the action begin.

“I want to help my team get to the championship,” Boren said. “It's the final goal. It's what we work so hard for. I wasn't there when we lost to them. I'm hoping we play Corona del Mar.”

Division I pairings
Division II pairings
Division III pairings
Division IV and V pairings 

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