Eagles nearly pull a surprise

LAGUNA BEACH — Illness and lineup shifts shaped the way the Orange Coast League girls’ tennis match between Estancia High and Laguna Beach was played Thursday at Laguna Beach High.

Both teams were without a key player and their absences forced Eagles Coach Rachel de los Santos and Breakers Coach Jimmy Gleason to move other players into different slots. Those changes did nothing to prevent a spirited effort by both teams that, in fact, played to a 9-9 tie.

The Breakers, however, took the victory by virtue of a 77-71 advantage in games won.

The loss, the first in league play for Estancia, dropped the Eagles to 8-4, 2-1 in league.

The win allowed defending league champion Laguna to stay in first place at 3-0.

“It was a lot closer than I thought it would be,” de los Santos said. “We didn’t know that their No. 1 singles wasn’t playing until we got here. We were without a doubles player and had girls playing in spots they’d never played before.

“I was definitely pleased with the way our girls played.”

Estancia didn’t have starting doubles player Erin O’Neil who missed the match due to illness. Laguna, meanwhile, was without its top singles player, Alex Tachovsky who also was sidelined by illness.

“I think it they had [Tachovsky] there’s a good chance that they might have gotten a sweep at No. 1 singles and with her in their lineup, it would have changed the way the rest of the match was played,” de los Santos said.

Estancia registered one sweep in singles action when No. 1 Ellie Edles won, 6-4, over No. 1 Maddie Jaeger and then had little trouble in taking care of No. 2 Lauren Mendoza and Haley Moss by identical 6-0 scores.

The three wins kept Edles, who has committed to UC Davis, undefeated in league play.

She has just two losses this year.

“I thought I played well,” Edles said. “That first match was tough. Maddie [Jaeger] and I usually play tight matches and it’s a friendly rivalry.

“I just try to stay focused no matter who the opponent is. This year I’ve been focusing on every point instead of the big picture and it’s made a difference.”

Kendra Fisher, at No. 2 singles, won two of three sets. Last year, de los Santos said Fisher lost three times to Moss, Laguna’s No. 3 singles. In this meeting, Fisher picked up a key point as one of her wins was a 6-2 decision over Moss.

With O’Neil out, de los Santos moved singles player Jennifer Johnston into the doubles lineup where she teamed with “her best friend,” Misha Brown in the No. 2 slot. The duo defeated No. 1 Claire Jaeger/Lauren Michaels and No. 2 Heather Tran/McKenna Nokes by 7-5 scores. They earned a sweep by beating No. 3 Alison Azera,Bianca Sganga, 6-4.

“I was hoping their pairing would work out, and it did,” de los Santos said.

Kori Ehrhorn, who played two sets at No. 3 singles, and Nicole Marlborough, who subbed for Ehrhorn and played the final set at No. 3, both played singles for the first time, de los Santos said.

“They were thrown in and I thought they did well,” de los Santos said. “They took one for the team.”

Estancia returns to league play Tuesday at Calvary Chapel.

Orange Coast League

Laguna Beach 9, Estancia 9

(Laguna wins on games, 77-71)

Singles — Edles (E) def. M.Jaeger, 6-4, def. Mendoza, 6-0, def. Moss, 6-0; Fisher (E) lost, 0-6, won, 6-0, 6-2; Ehrhorn (E) lost, 0-6, 0-6; (sub) Marlborough (E) lost, 0-6.

Doubles — Payzant-Rodman (E) lost to C. Jaeger-Michaels, 6-7 (8), lost to Tran-Nokes, 4-6, def. Azera-Sganga, 6-3; Johnston-Brown (E) won 7-5, 7-5, 6-4; Plascencia-Hinson (E) lost, 1-6, 1-6, 3-6.