IRVINE – The trend of Tuesday’s Pacific Coast League girls tennis match was apparent from the onset: University would control the action on the doubles courts, while Northwood held down the fort on the singles side.
With the overall score tied and just three games separating the county powers after two rounds, every game in the third round seemingly held a substantial amount of weight in determining a victor.
With senior captain Judy Kam and freshman Dana Feng notching a pair of singles sets, the top-ranked Trojans avoided the need to tally games as University squeaked past No. 4 Northwood, 10-8, in a PCL match Tuesday afternoon at Northwood High.
Having won just one singles set in the opening two rounds, Kam capped her afternoon with a quick, 6-0 win that gave University a 7-6 overall lead. Feng delivered the decisive blow, winning a 7-6 marathon set that notched the Trojans’ 10th point.
“This is our season and you got to roll with it,” said University coach John Kessler, referring to another close victory. “There are a lot of new girls and a lot of nerves out there. But I thought Northwood played well today, and I thought their singles played extremely well.”
Having already been a part of two 9-9 affairs this season, University (7-1, 2-0) appeared headed down that path yet again. The Trojans opened the first round with a sweep on the doubles courts, but Northwood (7-2, 1-1) returned the favor on the singles side.
Junior Kerisa Lin impressed in a 6-3 win over Kam, which allowed the Timberwolves to stay even with the Trojans after one round of matches.
“Judy lost that battle with Kerisa, but we told her, ‘Hey, you lost that battle, now go win the war for us,’” Kessler added. “Doing that was pretty impressive.”
Kam responded with 6-2, 6-0 rounds while the doubles remained dominant. University’s tandems collectively went 7-2 and accounted for two points in the second and third rounds. Michelle Maddox and Ashlyn Wang finished 3-0 and dropped just two games, while Anja Seng and Kayla Augustin also swept for University.
Lin was the only other player to have a perfect afternoon, going 3-0 to lead Northwood’s gutsy performance.
“There’s that aura coming in (surrounding University), but all the girls right now were saying, ‘We can beat this team,’” Northwood coach John Tichy explained. “So we’re looking forward to seeing them again in a couple weeks.”
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
