Dana Hills' Spearman and Pletcher advance to CIF semifinals

SEAL BEACH – The biggest obstacle the Dana Hills' girls tennis team needed to overcome on Thursday had nothing to do with its performance on the court.

No, Cassidy Spearman and Margo Pletcher had a much bigger monster to tackle before their CIF-SS quarterfinals match with Peninsula.

The wait.

Earlier in the day, Spearman and Pletcher made quick work of their Round of 16 foe, Claremont, and were rewarded with a painfully long break while Peninsula finished their morning match.

When the two teams finally hit the court, the Panthers promptly handed the Dana Hills duo their first dropped set of the tournament.

"A lot of these girls are used to having breaks and rests between matches, so they should be used to it," Dolphins coach Justin Green said. "But on a colder, windier day, sometimes you come out a little flat."

It didn't take Spearman and Pletcher long to find their groove, though, as the top-seeded pair from the South Coast League completed consecutive 6-1 victories to advance to Friday's semifinals.

"You got to put a lot of balls into play to get the energy back up and our girls were able to do that," Green said. "A lot of times it's about the energy going into the match and we were lacking that today."

Awaiting Spearman and Pletcher are Zoe Katz and Valerie Thong from Campbell Hall, a school that has done nothing but pester Dana Hills the last handful of years.

"We're very familiar with Campbell Hall," Green said. "They're going to be a very tough team. We're going to have to play very well, but our girls are looking forward to it and they're ready."

The Vikings and Dolphins faced off as recently as last year, when Campbell Hall knocked Spearman out of the tournament in the same round they'll be battling in this year.

"Our girls have played on the big stage before so they'll be ready," Green said. "I think that no matter what level you get at, you're going to have butterflies, but it's just about having fun and going after it."

Whatever the outcome, the magnitude of the moment won't be lost on Dana Hills.

"They're ecstatic," Green said about his girls' mindset heading into Friday. "Getting to the semis and being one of the top four teams in Southern California is quite an accomplishment."