CLAREMONT – Whatever University had to offer, Peninsula of Rolling Hills Estates had an answer.
When University’s Celine Gruaz broke the serve of Annika Ringblom, the Peninsula senior came back to win the next six games and the set.
The Panthers’ top doubles team, Risa Nakagawa and Sara Khattab, neutralized University’s Danielle Pham and Sarah Mae Garcia with powerful overhead shots.
Peninsula and University were the top-ranked teams in Division 1 all season, but the Panthers showed they were far and away No. 1 with a 14-4 victory over the Trojans in the CIF-Southern Section final at The Claremont Club on Friday.
Peninsula (23-0) won all nine singles sets to cap an undefeated season and held an advantage in doubles, even handing Pham two rare defeats.
University (19-2) entered its third straight championship match looking to bring home its first title in program history but instead went home runner-up once again.
“It’s so hard to get here,” University coach John Kessler said. “In Division 1, there’s always going to be a team that’s great. And we just haven’t, for three years, been that great team. We’ve been good enough to get here.”
Kessler tweaked the Trojans lineup Friday. He moved Yuki Asami, one of their top singles players, into doubles against a Peninsula team with three top singles players.
But University found itself in a 4-2 hole early anyway. Peninsula’s Nakagawa and Khattab defeated Pham and Garcia, 6-3, and swept in singles.
“They were just better than us,” Pham said. “They were aggressive.”
Nakagawa and Khattab then defeated Asami and Judy Kam, 6-0, one of five sets the Panthers won in the second round to take a 9-3 lead.
The closest University came in a singles set was Gruaz’s 6-2 loss to Ena Shibahara, who ranks among the top sophomores in the nation.
Kessler said he appreciated the effort by the senior class, which includes team captains Pham, Garcia and Kyla Scott. He said they propelled the program to where it is now.
Sophomore Alyssa Rudin said she saw the seniors getting a little teary-eyed as the match concluded, but commended them for their part in another University run to the final.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty frustrating,” Rudin said of another runner-up finish. “But at the same time, being in second place is not something to be embarrassed of.”
Contact the writer: mcooper@ocregister.com
