Her first loss of the season is her last loss of the season.

Welcome to Megan Heneghan's season in a nutshell. The Beckman junior was 57-0 entering her quarterfinal match against top seed Pam Montez of La Quinta on Thursday in the CIF-SS girls singles championships at Seal Beach Tennis Center. Montez is ranked No. 1in the USTA's girls 18 and under rankings; Heneghan No. 37.

Montez advanced, 6-4, 6-3. Heneghan said she had a chance to break to make it 5-all in the first set.

"That is what's most disappointing," she said, "were the missed opportunities. She was a very good player. I just tried to stay in the points."

Heneghan had said before her goal was to reach the final. She'll be among the favorites to get there next year.

The Pacific Coast League MVP and singles champion's morning started with a rematch. Last year Palos Verdes' Kathryn Webb knocked Heneghan out in the third round. They met in Thursday morning's Round of 16. Heneghan started strong and advanced 6-1, 6-3.

"I was very excited to play Webb," Heneghan said. "The score shows how much I improved from last year."

Beckman's coach Holly Ritchey agreed, saying Heneghan is a different player this year.

"She came out with something to prove this morning," Ritchey said. "Pam is a really great player and Megan did really well against her. She was holding her own, it's just Pam played really well."

• Girls tennis: Friday's semifinals are set

• Girls tennis: First look at Round of 16 doubles draw

• Girls tennis: First look at Round of 16 singles draw

• Dana Hills postseason party continues
• First look at Round of 16

• Girls tennis: CIF finals recap; 3 county teams win titles

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.