Last season wasn’t supposed to end like that.
Not for Dana Hills.
Its girls tennis team, the two-time CIF-SS Division 1 title holder, was dethroned by North Hollywood’s Campbell Hall in the championship match, 10-8.
It was the same score Dana Hills beat Campbell Hall by during the regular season, a victory affirming the Dolphins’ attitude they were the team to beat.
Campbell Hall is now owner of that label. For Dana Hills, this season is about getting it back.
Click here for a breakdown of the top teams and players for the season.
“That’s our goal going in,” Dana Hills coach Justin Green said. “Everyone is bitter and disappointed with the taste of last year. I mean, it’s great to get to the final, but we wanted to win it. It’s never fun coming out on the losing end.”
It may appear the regular season and playoffs are mere formalities standing between Dana Hills and Campbell Hall’s grudge match in this year’s championship, but it’s hard to dispute the evidence.
Both teams bring back almost their entire rosters and consider their teams improved from last season.
The formidable 1-2 singles punches of Joanna and Alyssa Smith for Dana Hills and Sabrina Santamaria and Sarah Lee for Campbell Hall are nationally ranked players.
The Dolphins also return sophomores Cassidy Spearman and Jessica Perez, who teamed at No. 1 doubles last season. Campbell Hall also has its top doubles duo intact. Zoe Katz and Valerie Thong won the CIF-SS individual doubles title last season.
The teams meet in a nonleague match Sept. 29 at Laguna Niguel Racquet Club.
“I’m really excited to have all of our returners back,” Green said. “We are deeper than last year. I’m excited for that.”
Dana Hills and Campbell Hall are this season’s Division 1 headline-grabbers, but not the only story with a suitable plot.
Of the county’s most anticipated matches are the two between Pacific Coast League rivals Corona del Mar and University. The teams are Nos. 2 and 3 in the county, respectively, and the Trojans nearly knocked the Sea Kings from their perch in two close losses last season.
Had it not been for Corona del Mar landing transfer Lynda Xepoleas, who moved from Ojai and is ranked in the top 10 nationally in the girls 18, University could have been the favorite for the title this year.
“She takes the pressure off all the other girls,” said University coach John Kessler of Xepoleas. “They are almost guaranteed three points every match. I think we are close with them, but until CdM loses they have to be the favorites.”
The Pacific Coast League now has Woodbridge and Northwood too. The realignment has made it the class of the county top to bottom, which also includes Beckman and Irvine.
“Call it the super-tennis league,” Corona del Mar coach Brian Ricker said.
From an individual perspective, Xepoleas will rival the Smith sisters for the top player in the county, but a notable pair will not be playing.
Krista Hardebeck, who last year became the first El Modena girl to reach the singles championship match, decided to not return for her junior season. Hardebeck had a big spring, capturing titles at the Carson ITF International Spring Championships and Easter Bowl Girls’ 18 and under in back-to-back weeks. The last player to accomplish that was Melanie Oudin in 2008.
Freshman Mayo Hibi (Woodbridge), who is nationally ranked in the top 25 in the girls 18, also is not playing this season. She would have faced off with Xepoleas in the redesigned PCL.
As it stands, Xepoleas will have to settle the debate of the county’s top player with the Smith sisters.
“From what I’ve heard, when she’s on she’s tough to beat,” Ricker said of Xepoleas.
