Orange Lutheran boys tennis coach Lukas Tandy McGlasson is so close in age with his players that several years ago he played in the same clinic as senior Alex Arentsen.
But youth and inexperience do not seem to matter in Tandy McGlasson’s case. As a first-year coach who is still five weeks shy of his 21st birthday, Tandy McGlasson led the No. 9 Lancers to a share of the Trinity League title, the program’s first in its 26 years of existence.
Orange Lutheran (15-3, 9-1) shares the title with No. 10 Santa Margarita (16-4, 9-1) but earned the league’s top seed in the CIF playoffs by winning more head-to-head games. CIF brackets will be released Monday at 11 a.m.
A former player at Foothill, Tandy McGlasson coached the Lancers while studying at Vanguard University, where he is finishing his sophomore year.
“Not many people believe me when I say I’m only 20 years old,” he said.
Orange Lutheran No. 1 singles player, Blaine Mengert, a senior who turns 19 in October, said Tandy McGlasson comes off as older than his age.
“It was cool having a coach the same age,” Mengert said. “All the guys really respected him.”
Singles domination for Esperanza
Led by its three singles players, Esperanza this week completed a 10-2 league slate to secure its second consecutive Century League title.
Sophomore Shane Cruz won 27 of his 30 matches in league play, and Jake Rogers and Pinoe Chu combined to go 58-10.
Esperanza used Monday’s 11-7 victory at Villa Park clinch the title. Cruz, Rogers and Chu swept all nine singles sets.
“They came out pretty fired up,” Esperanza coach Patrick Young said. “I think they really wanted to prove themselves this year, so it was a really big plus.”
PAEK HELPS SUNNY HILLS UPSET TROY
Tom Penner is in his seventh season as Sunny Hills’ coach. In his first 13 tries, he had failed to record a win over rival Troy.
But on Tuesday, Josh Paek, a substitute for normal No. 3 singles player, who was sick, pulled out a final-round, 7-5 victory over Troy No. 1 Charles Hicho to give Sunny Hills a 9-9 (78-74) win and a share of the Freeway League title.
“It was looking really grim,” Penner said. “But I kept looking over at the score and (Paek) was hanging tough the whole way. And then next thing I knew he was changing sides and he was up 6-5.”
A game later, Sunny Hills had its biggest triumph of the season.
5 PLAYERS TO DEFEND LEAGUE SINGLES TITLES:
Gage Brymer, University: Claimed fourth PCL championship in four years.
Stefan Doehler, Foothill: Defeated Esperanza’s Shane Cruz for second straight title.
Jayson Amos, El Toro: Added a South Coast League title to his 2012 Sea View crown.
Teague Hamilton, Laguna Beach: Defended title with win over teammate Morgan Lebby.
John Lieu, Fountain Valley: Beat Marina’s Max Cancilla to win second title in a row.
Contact the writer: jkaplan@ocregister.com
