CLAREMONT – No matter what tennis court or school you found yourself at this season, the word around the entire tennis community was the same: all roads for a CIF Division 1 title goes through Peninsula High of Palos Verdes.
High praise? No doubt.
But on Friday afternoon, facing the best Orange County had to offer, the top-seeded Panthers more than lived up to the hype.
Peninsula eased past University, 16-2, on Friday, securing its second consecutive CIF-Southern Section Division 1 title in remarkable fashion at The Claremont Club.
“Now I know what people feel like when they play that great boys team we have,” Trojans coach John Kessler said. “What can you do? I really thought we played well.
“Our doubles teams – (Kyara) Sutton and (Michelle) Maddox – competed right to the very end, as did Kayti (Luu) and Ashlyn Wang. I thought we fought.”
The Trojans capped another stellar campaign by advancing to their fourth straight CIF final, finishing with an overall record of 20-2 overall. Both the University losses this season happened to come against Peninsula (22-0).
“They’re just on another level,” Kessler added. “And that doesn’t just go with the first three singles. Their two doubles teams are phenomenal.
“I can’t imagine a team being deeper than that.”
The Panthers three singles players – Ena Shibahara, Kenadi Hance and Ryan Peus – are all five-star recruits ranked in the top 50 nationally. Shibahara and Peus, in particular, are ranked in the top-15 in their respective classes.
Behind that devastating lineup, Peninsula swept the first and second rounds to take a 12-0 lead.
University’s lone two points of the match came in the third round from Tiffany Madlambayan, who played in the No. 1 singles slot on Friday, and the doubles team of Anja Seng-Rebecca Kim.
Peninsula collectively went 8-1 on both the doubles and singles side.
With CIF Regionals starting next week, the Panthers also earned the top seed in the state-run tournament. University is the No. 2 seed.
“If you look back over the last several years, no other team has been more consistent than University,” Peninsula coach Mike Hoeger said in the post-match trophy presentation. “It’s always just a thrill when you beat a school like University.”
University will return to the court Tuesday afternoon when it hosts Poway High in the first round of the CIF Regional tournament.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
