OC Varsity » Artie Casas

Girls tennis: This week's top 10 explained

ARTIE CASAS, OCREGISTER.COM — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:00:13 +0000

There are two newcomers into the top 10 and quite a few shifts among the remaining eight teams.

Here are some details on the top 10 teams:

1. Corona del Mar (12-0) - Ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS DI, the Sea Kings defeated a quality Laguna Hills (11-6) team, 11-7.

2. Dana Hills (14-1) - Ranked No. 2 in CIF-SS DI, the Dolphins defeated previously No. 3 University, 13-5.

3. Valencia (13-1) - Ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS DIII, the Tigers defeated Cypress, 12-6, and Katella 17-1.

4. University (11-2) - Ranked No. 4 in CIF-SS DI, the Trojans lost to No. 2 Dana Hills, 13-5.

5. St. Margaret's (14-0) - Ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS DIV, the Tartans defeated previously No. 9 Sage Hill, don't know the exact score something like 14-4.

6. Laguna Beach (15-4) - Ranked No. 8 in CIF-SS DI, the Breakers defated Mater Dei, 12-6.

7. Troy (7-4) - Ranked No. 9 in CIF-SS DI, the Warriors defeated Sunny Hills, 14-4

8. Northwood (11-3) - The Timberwolves lost to unranked Woodbridge, 11-7.

9. Woodbridge (6-1 Sea View League record) - The Warriors defeated previously ranked No. 6 Northwood, 11-7.

10. Newport Harbor (14-3) - The Sailors defeated Los Alamitos, 9-9 (70-66). It's the second time NH defeated LA, the Sailors also have win against Esperanza under their belt.

MORE TENNIS NEWS:

Girls tennis: Athlete of the Week

ARTIE CASAS, OCREGISTER.COM — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:33:15 +0000

Jamie Lai

Woodbridge High

The Warriors' No. 2 singles player out-lasted Northwood’s No. 2 player, 7-5, in the opening round to help her team pull off the upset win, 11-7, and secure at least a share of the Sea View League title.

Her win tied the teams in sets, 3-3, after the first round and gave Woodbridge (6-1) the momentum. The Warriors proceeded to win five of six sets in the second round to take a commanding 8-4 set lead before wrapping up the victory.

Girls tennis: Surveying the county

ARTIE CASAS, OCREGISTER.COM — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:28:30 +0000

League girls tennis champions are being crowned all around the county.

By now the contenders have separated themselves from the pretenders.

But in order to succeed in the CIF playoffs it’s a tough nonleague schedule that really makes the difference.

Here are 10 things I know about girls tennis:

1. Newport Harbor has essentially wrapped up a Sunset League title after beating Los Alamitos for a second time, 9-9 (winning by games 70-66). The Sailors defeated the Griffins 9-9 (winning by games 83-72) in their first meeting. Newport Harbor also had a big league victory over Esperanza, 11-7.

2. Valencia dominated Division IV by winning back-to-back CIF titles. Now it looks like the Tigers are ready to do the same at the Division III level now that they have over taken the No. 1 spot in the CIF rankings.

3. Corona del Mar (12-0) blanked Irvine (1-15), 18-0. But more importantly Melissa Matsuoka moved into the singles lineup for the first time this season and didn't lose a game, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0.

This could really make a difference come playoff time.

4. St. Margaret’s might have wrapped up the Academy League title after beating Sage Hill for a third time this season.

The Tartans made it look easy with a 14-4 win against their league rivals. It was the strength of their doubles teams that led them to victory, winning eight of nine matches.

5. Three Orange County teams currently hold the No. 1 spot in the CIF polls: Corona del Mar, Division I, Valencia, Division III, and St. Margaret’s, Division IV.

But there is one team that is flying under the radar and ready to move into the No. 1 slot in Division V – Ocean View.

The Seahawks are currently No. 2 in their division thanks to a deadly singles lineup.

Problem is Ocean View tends to struggle in doubles competition.

Last year the Seahawks made it to semi-finals before losing to Viewpoint the eventual champions, 9-9 (60-55).

6. There are two more verbal commits in the world of tennis. Newport Harbor’s Nelly Radeva, who is 13-0, will play for Cal next year and Estancia’s Elanor Edles is going to play for UC Davis.

7. Capo Valley is making some bring strides as a program. Last year the Cougars qualified for the CIF playoffs, a first after a seven year absence. Now Capo Valley is primed to make a return and a cardio-tennis workout might be its secret to success.

8. I knew some team would pull of a major upset this week. That honor goes to Woodbridge after beating No. 6 Northwood, 11-7, yesterday in a Sea View League matchup.

To read the entire story click here.

9. Here is a round up of some scores reported by coaches from around the county.

Esperanza (10-4) defeated Edison, 12-5.

The Aztecs are now 6-1 in the Sunset League and if they can find a way to be Newport Harbor a share of the title is well within their reach.

No. 4 Valencia (13-1) continues to roll after beating Cypress, 12-6, and Katella, 17-1.

Natalie McKay swept her all three of her singles sets 6-0.

The Tigers are 8-0 in the Empire League.

"With one week left in league, I feel good about where our team is right now," Valencia coach Mike McCall said. "We have been improving steadily, and we hope to continue to do so".

No. 2 Dana Hills (14-1) defeated No. 3 University (11-2), 13-5.

10. Some coaches don’t seem to want to give their team any publicity fearing that their opposition might use the info for matchup purposes. As one reader put it, “At this point, they have finished the first round of play, and there is no competitive reason not to disclose the results.”

Good teams have nothing to hide.

Football: Tustin squares off with Canyon

ARTIE CASAS, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:17:45 +0000

Running back Ameer Webb is part of Tustin's triple threat on offense

By ARTIE CASAS and CHRIS TOBOLSKI

OCVarsity.com

Times are changing in the Century League.

El Dorado use to be the king of the hill and untouchable, winning three straight league titles.

All that changed when Canyon defeated the Golden Hawks, 37-27, last week.

"It was a great feeling," Canyon coach Brent McKee said. "There was a lot of relief. The last three years we have finished in second place and they kept us from a league title. It was huge for us."

It was the first Comanches victory over the Hawks in six seasons. There is just one big hurdle standing between the Comanches and their quest for a league championship – Tustin. The teams meet Friday night at 7 at El Modena High. Tustin defeated Brea Olinda, 64-0, last week to start league.

"They've already done the big thing by beating El Dorado," Tustin coach Myron Miller said. "I don't think there is anyone left on their schedule that will beat them, so I think it's really important that we beat them or else they will win the league championship."

McKee said he doesn't want his team to overlook anyone, but agreed the winner of Friday night's game would have the inside track to the title.

"I think that obviously Tustin is the team to beat," McKee said. "If we can beat them, then that makes us the team to beat.

"They are a good team. Every week they look stronger and stronger."

The Tillers formula for success has always been the same: control the ball on offense and limit the big plays on defense.

Tustin's offense is predicated on the run. But the opposition typically has problem stopping the Tillers because they have three guys that are capable handling the pigskin.

Everyone knows about the Tillers star running back Anthony Wilkerson, who appears to be fully recovered from a knee injury that he suffered in week one.

But what makes Wilkerson an effective running back is the presence and leadership of quarterback Taylor Richardson. Ameer Webb's game breaking potential also serves as a nice third option out of the backfield.

"When you have two running backs and a quarterback that can run pretty well it allows you to move the ball pretty comfortably," Tustin coach Myron Miller said. "The big thing is we need to throw the ball a little better if we want to make a real run down the road."

Canyon is aware of the Tillers attack. McKee said there are two keys for his team Friday night.

"First, the offense needs to sustain drives and stay on the field," McKee said. "Tustin runs that Wing T and if we run just three plays, we might not see the ball again for awhile. Second, we need to get the big stops. They like to go for it on fourth downs a lot. We need to get a couple key stops."

The Tillers defense has been the team's backbone of late.

Imposing defensive lineman such as Chris Robinson, Justice Tausaga and Faitele Faafoi have been dominating the line of scrimmage for the Tillers.

The linebackers Wade Minshew and Tiajay Moody are sure tacklers that seem to be in the middle of every play.

"If it doesn't happen with us, I don't think anyone will be able to stop Canyon," Miller said.

The Tillers will face a Canyon team starting all 11 projected starters for the first time this season. Combined with their victory over El Dorado last week, the Comanches are entering as confident as ever.

"It's going to be a very physical game," Canyon's Jay Kirschner said. "They have big guys, but we are physical too. It's going to be a good one."

Girls tennis: Woodbridge upsets No. 6 Northwood

ARTIE CASAS, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:55:37 +0000

Brooke Sendele of Woodbridge returns the ball while playing against Northwood

By BRENT SHAVER

For OCVarsity.com

The Woodbridge girls tennis team didn't beat Northwood two weeks ago, but the Warriors came away with a feeling that they could.

Northwood defeated Woodbridge on games, 69-60, after the teams were tied in sets, 9-9, the first time the two squads met on Oct. 7.

The Warriors carried their optimism into Thursday afternoon's rematch at Northwood and turned it into an 11-7 upset win that all but wrapped up a share of the Sea View League title with the Timberwolves.

"Match-ups are huge and Woodbridge seems to always match up really well with us," Northwood coach Eric Keith said. "They played well today and deserved it."

Both teams now have a record of 6-1 in league play with three matches to play. But neither Woodbridge or Northwood, which was ranked sixth in Orange County, has been challenged by anyone else in league.

"We worked very hard for this," Woodbridge coach Ric Barth said of the win.

In fact, Barth said that the last two weeks of practice had been geared toward Thursday's big match.

"This was it," he said. "Everything pointed toward today. We did lots of drills with our top two singles players and our doubles teams worked on being consistent. We didn't want to beat ourselves out there. We wanted to try and eliminate mistakes by not double faulting, returning serve, hitting the ball to the open court, making your volleys, and no unforced errors."

The focused effort paid off, especially in singles.

Woodbridge won just one set in singles on Oct. 7 against the Timberwolves.

But sophomore No. 1 player Nakisa Vahdat, who missed the first match against Northwood because of injury, and senior No. 2 player Jamie Lai each won two of three sets on Thursday.

Vahdat's 6-0 win in the third round earned the Warriors their 10th set and secured the team victory.

But it was Lai's opening-round win that set the stage for Woodbridge.

She out-lasted Northwood's No. 2 player Melissa Kan, 7-5. It was Lai's first ever win over Kan.

"It was such a big win for us," Barth said.

The victory tied the teams in sets, 3-3, after the first round and gave Woodbridge the momentum.

The Warriors proceeded to win five of six sets in the second round to take a commanding 8-4 set lead.

The teams split the six sets in the final round and then Woodbridge celebrated.

"We don't have the most talented team, but these kids try hard," Barth said. "They should be really proud of themselves."

Woodbridge did its usual damage in doubles, winning seven of nine sets.

The No. 1 team of Nori Call and Allison Reeve swept, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5, as did the No. 3 team of Brooke Sendele and May Sumi, 6-4, 6-0, 6-4.

Sophomore Courtney Pattugalan did her part for Northwood, sweeping, 6-1, 6-4, 6-0.

The teams of Kim Young and Melissa Ross and Sally Hong and Alice Muk each won a set in doubles for the Timberwolves.

"There were some close sets that could have gone either way and their girls came through," Keith said. "Give it to Woodbridge. They played better today than we did."

Garden Grove improves record to 7-0

ARTIE CASAS, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:40:47 +0000

By ARTIE CASAS
OCVarsity staff

GARDEN GROVE -- An ugly victory is what Garden Grove coach Ron Vander Sluis called his team's 49-21 victory over La Quinta on Thursday night.

“Our goal has been to get better the last couple of weeks, and we did not do that today,” Vander Sluis said. “Our momentum is kind of stalled right now, even though you win a ballgame, there are still a lot of things you can fix.”

Garden Grove (7-0, 2-0) had eight players combine to rush for 215 yards and five touchdowns.

Leading that balanced running attack was Jonathan Lopez with 65 yards and two touchdowns.

The Argronauts defensive star of the night was Sean Young, who finished with two interceptions.

“Basically I tried to overplay the ball,” Young said. “Luckily I was able to pick off the pass.”

La Quinta’s (2-5, 0-2) Nathan Do finished with 142 rushing yards and a TD.

OCVarsity staff picks: Casas says it's time to simplify

ARTIE CASAS, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:40:23 +0000

It's time to stop second-guessing my gut instincts with these football picks.

I took one look, saw there were some no-brainers on the list this week, then I went with my first reaction with the close games. (I'll let the readers decide which games were the easy ones to pick.)

1. No. 1 Edison (5-1) vs. No. 3 Los Alamitos (6-0) – There must be a jinx on the No. 1 spot in the county because it doesn’t seem like anyone wants to stay there for more than a couple of weeks. Don’t expect the injury-plagued Chargers to hold the slot for very long, either, after the Griffins beat them this week. LOS ALAMITOS, 24-14.

2. Cypress (3-3) vs. No. 20 Valencia (5-1) – Consistency and revenge are on the Tigers' side in this game. VALENCIA, 21-17.

3. No. 2 Tesoro (6-0) vs. No. 8 San Clamente (6-0) – Someone has to lose this game, and after last week’s dominating victory over Mission Viejo it doesn’t look like the Titans are ready to do that just yet. TESORO, 31-21.

4. No. 15 Tustin (3-3) vs. No. 21 Canyon (3-3) – This showdown will likely determine who will win the Century League title. The Tillers have morphed into a defensively strong team that can do enough on offense to win. The Comanches have been inconsistent this season. TUSTIN, 28-21.

5. No. 16 Santa Margarita (2-4) vs. No. 7 Servite (3-3) – The Friars were on the verge of being the No. 1 team in the county, but their game plan misfired against Mater Dei. Now the Friars have to win out in order to have another shot at the top spot. That ascencion will begin with a win over the Eagles. SERVITE, 28-14.

6. St. John Bosco (6-0) vs. No. 5 Orange Lutheran (5-1) – The Lancers don’t have the offense to keep up with upper-echelon team, but their defense is good enough to make this a close game. ST. JOHN BOSCO, 24-17.

7. Anaheim (4-2) vs. Santa Ana Valley (3-3) – The Colonists' defense can be stingy, but the offense will need to step up to keep up with the Falcons. ANAHEIM, 28-24.

8. Corona del Mar (5-2) vs. Irvine (6-1) – Neither team seems to be able to put up a ton of points against a quality defense. But the Sea King's tougher nonleague schedule should be the difference in this one. CORONA DEL MAR, 14-7.

OCVarsity staff picks: Playing the waiting game

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:21:08 +0000

If it wasn't for a text message sent to Mr. Albano at 1:30 p.m., then I would still be sitting and waiting for him to make his selections for our staff contest here in Week 7.

That's what I get for dealing with the media superstar.

(Note, he didn't respond until 4:17 p.m.)

Even Jason Eichelberger sent his picks in before Albano. Amazing.

Also, apologies to Jonathan Kay. He actually went 7-1 last week and not 6-2. Props to Kay. He's still in last.

Now the picks ...

WEEK 7 LINEUP

Edison-Los Alamitos

Cypress-Valencia

Tesoro-San Clemente

Tustin-Canyon

Santa Margarita-Servite

St. John Bosco-Orange Lutheran

Anaheim-Santa Ana Valley

Corona del Mar-Irvine

THE PICKS

Albano (31-17, 4-4 LW):

Los Alamitos, Cypress, Tesoro, Tustin, Servite, Orange Lutheran, Anaheim, Irvine

Arias (29-19, 4-4 LW):

Edison, Valencia, Tesoro, Tustin, Servite, St. John Bosco, Anaheim, Corona del Mar

Casas (33-15, 5-3 LW):

Los Alamitos, Valencia, Tesoro, Tustin, Servite, St. John Bosco, Anaheim, Corona del Mar

Comment: "Why am I no longer a guru? … Being tied with Fryer worries me -- a savvy vet versus a know-it-all rookie. Sounds like I'm the underdog in this one."

Eichelberger (31-17, 5-3 LW)

Edison, Valencia, Tesoro, Tustin, Servite, Orange Lutheran, Santa Ana Valley, Irvine

Fryer (33-15, 6-2 LW)

Los Alamitos, Valencia, Tesoro, Tustin, Servite, Orange Lutheran, Anaheim, Irvine

Comment: "I went against my own rankings on Edison-Los Alamitos and on Corona del Mar-Irvine -- playing some hunches here. And I learned long ago how foolish it can be to predict Irvine coach Terry Henigan will lose a football game."

Kay (28-19, 7-1 LW)

Edison, Valencia, Tesoro, Canyon, Servite, Orange Lutheran, Santa Ana Valley, Corona del Mar

Comment: "Does the guy in last place have the right to gloat a little? Heck, yeah. Who else, besides me, picked Mater Dei last week? That's right. No one did. For my next act of prediction magic: My Yankees (I'm from NY, it's allowed) will not touch Manny Ramirez this offseason."

Tulabut (29-19, 6-2 LW)

Los Alamitos, Valencia, Tesoro, Tustin, Servite, St. John Bosco, Anaheim, Irvine

Calhoun (31-17, 5-3 LW):

Edison, Cypress, Tesoro, Tustin, Servite, Orange Lutheran, Anaheim, Corona del Mar

Comment: "Dan is still my favorite water polo writer."

THE CREW

Rambo “Aqua” Dan Albano – Our boys and girls water polo/swimming/diving/Hawaiian shirt guru

Carlos “Los” Arias – Our boxing/mixed martial arts/girls softball/girls basketball/Las Vegas road trip guru

Damian “DC” Calhoun – Former L.A. Galaxy beat writer

Steve “The Boss” Fryer – Our all things prep sports/classic rock guru

Jason “J-Eich” Eichelberger -Our boys and girls cross country/boys and girls track and field/girls soccer/South County/hip-hop and R&B guru.

Artie Casas – Might return to guru status by Week 9.

Jonathan “JK” Kay – The New Guy.

Erlina Tulabut – OCVarsity web editor guru

Girls tennis: Weekly roundup

ARTIE CASAS, OCREGISTER.COM — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:11:31 +0000

There haven't been any upsets this week, but it's still early and there are several good games going on around the county today.

Here are a few scores from the first half of the week:

No. 1 Corona del Mar (10-0) defeated Laguna Hills (11-6), 11-7

The Hawks dominated singles action winning seven of nine sets with Jocelyn Lu, who is 49-2 overall, leading the charge (7-5, 6-1, 6-1).

The Sea Kings' two singles victories were by freshman Katelyn Nguyen, which included a 6-1 payback win over Arianna Mokhtara – who had defeated her 7-6 earlier in the season.

Corona del Mar swept all nine doubles sets, only giving up one game.

No. 2 (13-1) Dana Hills defeated No. 3 University, 13-5

The Dolphins' powerful singles lineup did most of the damage led by Kristina Smith, who swept all three of her sets.

Brynn Boren returned to the singles lineup and won two of her sets.

Dana Hills' top doubles team, Victoria Wing/Leyla Simmons, swept their sets. Megan Miller/Kyra Scott won two of three sets to round out the scoring for the starters.

No. 4 Valencia (12-1) defeated Cypress, score unknown

The Tigers have moved up to the No. 1 spot in the CIF-SS Division III coaches' poll.

Valencia remains unbeaten in the Empire League with a 7-0 record.

"We've been fortunate to be able to rest some of our players and get all seven of our non-starters into matches," Valencia coach Michael McCall said.

No. 5 St. Margaret’s (13-0) defeated Capo Valley, 17-1.

Capo Valley only showed up with three singles players.

Earlier in the week the Cougars defeated Tesoro, 12-6. Capo Valley's singles lineup was the difference in this match, winning eight of the nine sets.

No. 7 Troy (7-4) defeated Sunny Hills, 14-4

The Trojans' top singles players Frances Tseng (6-0, 6-0, 6-0) and Stefanie Villajuan (6-0, 6-1, 6-0) swept their sets.

Troy remains undefeated in the Freeway League with a 6-0 record.

No. 8 Laguna Beach (15-4) defeated Mater Dei, 12-6

The Breakers' strength this season has been their singles lineup and they didn’t disappoint again the Monarchs.

Maddie Jaeger (6-1, 6-1, 6-0) was the only player to sweep her sets.

But Haley Moss (3-6, 6-0, 6-0) and Claire Jaeger (6-7, 6-1, 6-2) managed to win two of their three sets.

A strong showing by Lauren Michaels/Lauren Mendoza (2-6, 6-4, 7-5) and Mckenna Nokes/Alison Azera (0-6, 6-4, 6-0) helped finish off Mater Dei.

Laguna Beach coach Jimmy Gleeson had to find the right doubles partners as none of them had played together. Gleeson's instinct proved successful as the doubles won 5 of 9 matches with one of the losses being a default.

Laguna Beach then wrapped up at least a share of the Orange Coast title with a 17-1 win over Calvary Chapel. The Breakers have won three straight league titles.

Orange Lutheran (9-4) defeated JSerra, 10-8

The Lancers' Kelly Christian was unstoppable once again winning all three of her sets 6-0.

Orange Lutheran’s top doubles team, B. Campbell/M. Sujanani, also wept their sets (7-6, 6-3, 6-0).

The only other doubles team or individual to win two sets were C. Apostol/K. Loughran (3-6, 6-2, 6-0).

Esperanza (9-4) defeated Marina, 14-4

The Aztecs' No. 1 singles player, Melanie Abella, was dominant once again, winning all three of her sets (6-1, 6-0, 6-0), as did No. 3 Thanh Doan (6-0, 6-1, 7-5).

Esperanza's doubles team Bionca Quesada/Jessie Wackerman (6-4, 6-2, 6-4), Adrienne McIntyre/Sam Nielsen (4-6, 7-, 6-2) and Tammy Do/Alyssa Kramer (6-4, 6-1, 6-2) won eight of the nine sets in the match.

Ocean View defeated Santa Ana, 17-1

The Seahawks won all nine singles sets in the match and dominated in overall games won, 99-15.

Segerstrom defeated Orange, 10-8

The Jaguars won this close battle by winning five sets in the doubles and singles competition.

Los Alamitos defeated Edison, 13-5

OCVarsity staff picks: Hooray for Jonathan Kay

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:11:26 +0000

Kay knows Mater Dei.

Jon Kay was the only one to pick the Monarchs to win their pitched rivalry against Servite. In other shocking news, Kay went 6-2 on the week, one week after he went 2-6.

He's still in last place, but you have to start somewhere.

In other news, the genius Arthur Casas has been caught atop the standings by Steve Fryer.

The Week 6 standings

Fryer, Kay, Tulabut 6-2

Calhoun, Casas, Eichelberger-Nolan 5-3

Albano, Arias 4-4 (I'm speechless)

Here are the updated standings:

1T. Fryer 33-15

1T. Casas 33-15

3T. Calhoun 31-17

3T. Albano 31-17

3T. Eichelberger-Martz 31-17

6T. Arias 29-19

6T. Tulabut 29-19

8. Kay 27-20

Check back Thursday morning for the Week 7 picks