Smith sweeps, pushes Dana Hills into Div. 1 final

In the last two seasons, Dana Hills' girls tennis team has advanced to the CIF-SS Division 1 Championship finals and headed home without the trophy. To get another shot at the hardware this season, the Dolphins were going to have to avenge their only loss of the season to No. 2 seed Peninsula.

Behind much improved play by its doubles teams and plenty of momentum from a fast start, Dana Hills got back into the finals with a 12-6 win.

Without junior Alyssa Smith, Dana Hills lost to Peninsula 13-5 in the Dolphins' second match of the season, but Thursday, Smith did more than play – she set the tone for the mild upset.

Smith opened play by beating Peninsula's No. 1 singles player, Annika Ringblom, 6-0. The win reverberated around the courts at Dana Hills High, giving the Dolphins the boost they needed.

"We definitely noticed," senior Jessica Wilcox said. "It's like, 'She's won; now let's do this.' It was just that little hump we had to get over, and then when we did, it was a sprint to the end."

Smith went on the sweep her three sets 6-0, 6-1 and 6-2.

"I want to set a strong tone in my first match," Smith said. "It sends a message to the rest of my team that we can do this. I know some of the girls look to me. I want make the other courts relax in my first match, get that first win and take some of the pressure off."

Dana Hills coach Justin Green said he's not 100 percent sure there's a ripple effect from a dominant opening set like Smith's.

"Still, it can't hurt," he said.

After Smith set the pace, the rest of the team followed suit. Every starter for Dana Hills, the top-ranked team in Orange County, won at least one point for the team Thursday.

"We just went for it," Wilcox said. "We knew we'd lost to them beforehand, but we were going to change that."

In the Division 1 semifinals:

University 11, Campbell Hall 7: Trojans coach John Kessler really thought his team would be in for trouble against No. 1 seed Campbell Hall. But something special happened on the Trojans' home court, a victory that left Kessler more than pleasantly surprised.

"I didn't see it coming," Kessler said.

Fourth-seeded University swept all nine doubles points and got key singles wins from freshman Yuki Asami and senior Kyra Scott to send the Trojans into the CIF-SS finals for the first time.

"For Uni, it's probably the biggest win in school history," Kessler said. "The fact that we're going to the finals after beating such a quality team, it's a pretty amazing feeling."