NEWPORT BEACH – In the hours leading up to Tuesday’s match, Orange County’s top two boys tennis teams had much to think about.
There was, of course, the match at hand. Then there was the unexpected. Only the day before, word had started to spread about the passing of former longtime Corona del Mar tennis coach Brian Ricker.
With heavy hearts, the second-ranked Sea Kings threw their best punch at No. 1 University, but it wasn’t enough as the Trojans walked away with an 11-7 Pacific Coast League victory at Corona del Mar High.
The Trojans (14-1, 7-0) won eight of the nine doubles sets. Tommy Wang and JT Joens swept their matches, 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-0. Patryk Kozlowski and Hudson Graf also ran the table, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
A moment of silence was held for Ricker, 55, before the announcement of the starting lineups. Ricker headed the girls program at Corona del Mar for 11 years and the boys team for four before moving on to Costa Mesa this season.
The first round of matches went by with limited displays of emotion. The somber tune of the pregame tribute appeared to have carried over into the teams’ play.
With Corona del Mar leading, 3-2, and only the third singles match on the court, the teams began to respond to the closeness of the match. The players for the teams lined up on opposite sides of the court adjacent to Ryan Wessler (CdM) and Julian LaFond (University), who were locked in a tiebreaker.
LaFond had squandered three match points prior to the tiebreaker, but he recovered to win the set, 7-6 (3).
“Throughout the match, I was struggling because some people were cheering, but not the whole team,” LaFond said, noting the somber quietness during the first round. “When the whole team came onto the court and was cheering for me because I was the last match on, that helped a lot.”
At 3-3, the Sea Kings (12-4, 6-2) were very much alive. They knew they could count on singles wins from Ojai Tournament finalist Bjorn Hoffmann and No. 2 Pedro Fernandez. The duo surrendered just four games in sweeping their six sets.
Late in the second round, the Trojans captured another key set. Wang and Joens defeated Matt Paulsen and Jacob Cooper, 7-6 (4), in another scintillating tiebreak set.
Paulsen had faced a love-40 situation on his serve, rallying to keep the match on-serve at 6-5. Wang credited his partner for lifting him up after he missed a couple of volleys.
“It was a really disappointing feeling, especially being up 40-love,” Wang said. “I have to give credit to JT. He definitely lifted me out of it. We fought back. We’ll scrap it out if we have to.”
Sea Kings coach Jamie Gresh was one of many who fought to keep their emotions in check Tuesday. He had coached with Ricker for 2½ years.
“He was a massive part of this program,” Gresh said of Ricker. “He was just spot on with his coaching, and he impacted a lot of kids.”
Players on Corona del Mar’s girls team came out to support the boys on a trying day for the program. Many brought flowers in remembrance of Ricker.
“The girls’ support was really important to the boys,” Gresh said. “It was kind of the programs bonding together today. It was a nice touch to make the day a little special under the tough circumstances.”
