Corona del Mar’s girls tennis team jumped to No. 3 in this week’s CIF-SS Division 1 poll, behind Peninsula and Mira Costa, after ending one of the county’s more impressive streaks last week.
The Sea Kings knocked off previously top-ranked University, 14-4, in a Pacific Coast League match on Thursday. The Sea Kings’ victory snapped the Trojans’ 54-match league winning streak that dated back to Oct. 28, 2009.
Corona del Mar received sweeps from sophomore Danielle Willson and junior Jasie Dunk on the singles side, while the duo of Camellia Edalat and Erica Chen went unbeaten in doubles play.
The Sea Kings received at least one point from every player in their lineup.
The Sea Kings also rose this week to No. 1 in the county top 10, a slot University had occupied since the week of Oct. 1, 2013.
CdM and University will meet again Oct. 20.
– KENNY CONNOLLY
BOYS WATER POLO
A trio of Orange County-ranked boys water polo teams are expected to add key transfers this week now that the players’ sit-out period for transferring is over.
The players joining their teams are Hannes Daube at Orange Lutheran, Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt at Newport Harbor and Wyatt Benson at Mater Dei.
Daube and Benson could face off Thursday as No. 6 Orange Lutheran plays host to top-ranked Mater Dei in a Trinity League opener at Santiago Canyon College at 4 p.m.
Turnbow-Lindenstadt will be with the Sailors at the S & R Sport tournament at the Woollett pool in Irvine on Friday and Saturday.
Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor, which played Saturday in their annual Battle of the Bay game, could meet again in the S & R tournament, but both teams face challenging roads. Two-time defending Division 1 champion Harvard-Westlake of Studio City highlights the field. The final is scheduled for Saturday at 5:35 p.m.
– DAN ALBANO
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
There are several interesting girls volleyball league races to keep an eye on this week.
In the Sea View League, Aliso Niguel and Trabuco Hills meet on Thursday night at Aliso Niguel in a showdown that should have a big impact on the battle for the league title.
Aliso Niguel, led by Kathryn Plummer, is the defending league champion. Trabuco Hills, armed with a solid group of juniors and seniors, including Allie Kantor, Tara Eaton, Antonette Rolda and Carly McKinney, are trying to dethrone the Wolverines.
Trabuco Hills has never won a league title in girls volleyball.
The Mustangs kick off the week Tuesday night against Mission Viejo. The match was originally scheduled for Trabuco Hills, but has been switched to Mission Viejo. The Diablos opened league play with a five-set victory over Laguna Hills last week.
Aliso Niguel opens league play tonight against Laguna Hills.
– DAMIAN CALHOUN
CROSS COUNTRY
It was a tight race in the Trinity League Preview at Huntington Beach’s Central Park on Wednesday, but JSerra senior Andrew Burkhardt’s winning time of 15:06 helped the Lions narrowly defeat Servite, 44-49.
Servite’s Michael Holbrook (third) and Vincent Sarino (fourth) kept the race close, and the adjusted head-to-head scoring showed just a two-point margin, 27-29, that favored JSerra.
JSerra freshman Nadia Tabrizi picked up the individual win in 18:46 as the Lions swept the team titles. Sisters McKayla and Skylar Giacobetti, Isabella Abusaid, and Ella Coppola finished in the top 10 to lead JSerra to a 27-49 victory over Mater Dei. …
In the Century Conference Preview, Canyon’s Sara Leonard (17:47) captured the individual win, but Esperanza came away with the team win. Shannon Mac Kellar (17:58) finished fourth to help Esperanza edge Canyon, 47-48.
Amongst North Hills League competitors, El Dorado’s Lucina Vincent (17:50) was the runner-up, but Brea Olinda walked away with a 36-42 win over Villa Park.
In the boys meet, Austin Tamagno ran a 14:38 to help Brea Olinda defeat Canyon, 26-35.
The North Hills League boys competition went to Yorba Linda, which used a fifth-place finish from Zack Joseph to defeat Villa Park, 31-42. …
Valencia secured a team sweep at the Empire League Cluster at Craig Park in Fullerton. The Tigers topped Kennedy, 47-59, in the girls meet. They dominated the boys competition, defeating Pacifica, 20-72.
Individual winners in the Empire League were Pacifica’s Jacob Smith (15:41) and Western’s Wendy Leos (19:11). …
Grace LaMontagne, Taylor Alvarez, Lauryn Alvarez and Pearl Shoemaker nabbed the top four spots, as Laguna Beach cruised to a 17-53 victory over Costa Mesa at Irvine Regional Park.
Godinez’s Pedro Mier (15:20) clipped Costa Mesa’s Elliot Hachac (15:24) as the Grizzlies ran past Laguna Beach, 25-50, for the boys meet win. …
Santa Ana’s Jorge Suarez posted a meet-best time of 15:18 to win the Division 1 title at the Central Park Invitational in Huntington Beach on Saturday.
Woodbridge’s Elizabeth Dahl (18:23) and Ai Kaisho (18:25) produced top-five finishes, as the Warriors duo topped all county representatives on the girls side. …
Dana Hills All-County senior Jake Ogden said Saturday his college list has been narrowed to six. He took an official visit to Colorado over the weekend, and he plans to take trips to Villanova and Stanford.
– ANDREW TURNER, Contributing writer
GIRLS GOLF
Alyaa Abdughany held a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Faldo Series Grand Final on Saturday, but the Corona del Mar senior posted a 1-over-par 73 at the Sporting Club Berlin in Bad Saarow, Germany, while Japan’s Yumi Kudo carded a 2-under 70 to move past Abdulghany and claim a one-stroke victory in the girls under-16 division.
On Friday, Abdulghany topped the leaderboard after posting a 70. She opened with a 71 and finished the prestigious invitational tournament with a 2-under-par 214. Kudo went 74-69-70 and posted a 3-under 212.
The week before she headed to Germany, Abdulghany finished tied for 12th in the World Junior Girls Championship in Ontario, Canada, after shooting a 8-over 296 in the 72-hole tournament.
She will return to the Sea Kings’ lineup this week when Corona del Mar plays Pacific Coast League rivals Irvine and University on Tuesday and Thursday.
– DAMIAN DOTTORE
