The addition of Adams led to CIF title for Sage

athleteofweek-a. adamsTransfer's arrival gave Lightning three dominant singles players and a clear path to a championship.Ashley Adams proved to be the final piece to the puzzle for the Sage Hill School girls' tennis team, which captured its first-ever CIF Southern Section Division V championship on Monday.

Adams, whose mother is Japanese and father is American, grew up in Tokyo before moving to the United States last summer. She was the No. 2 singles player at The American School in Japan, where she went undefeated as a freshman playing against other teams' No. 2 singles players.

After enrolling at Sage Hill School to prepare for college in the U.S., the sophomore joined Sarah Geocaris and Stephanie Langer, and the trio dominated the Academy League in singles.

With the addition of Adams, Sage Hill -- which reached the Division V semifinals and lost to Malibu the last two years -- was over the hump.

Adams, was 70-11 in singles sets overall and 32-0 in the Academy League.

She saved her best for last, going 14-0 in the CIF playoffs. Adams swept her sets, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, in the CIF semifinals last Thursday as Sage Hill defeated Morro Bay, 14-4. She came back on Monday and swept her sets, 6-0, 6-0, 6-1, in the championship match, which the Lightning won, 10-8, over Aquinas.

Earlier this season, Adams took third place in the Academy League Tournament and was an all-tournament selection in the Lightning Invitational, which Sage Hill (22-3) won.

"She's really come on strong," Sage Hill Coach A.G. Longoria said. "She's really got the best all-court game on the team. She can serve and volley, she can play steady, she can play with power and she can come to the net."

Adams, an All-Academy League first-team selection for the Lightning this season, was 51-1 against Division V opponents. All season, she rotated into the No. 1 singles spot with Geocaris and Langer, who were also first-team all-league picks.

Whether she was Sage Hill's No. 1 singles player or No. 3 player, she was never far from a sweep.

And she did it all with a smile on her face.

"I'm positive on the court," Adams said. "I don't get mad. I have good sportsmanship."

Adams, who is appearing in the school play, "The Assassins," shot down opponents on the court all season, and has a CIF title under her belt to prove it.

"When I held up the gold plaque, I felt really good," Adams said. "I felt like all the hard work was worth it."

Ashley Adams

Born: Feb. 17, 1990

Hometown: Tokyo, Japan

Height: 5-feet

Weight: 100 pounds

Sport: Tennis

Position: Singles player

Coach: A.G. Longoria

Favorite food: Rice and fish

Favorite movie: "Pirates of the Caribbean"

Favorite athletic moment: "When I won the all-around athletic, academics and arts achievement award last year in my school in Japan. You have to have better than a 3.6 GPA."

Week in review: Adams swept her sets, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, in the CIF Southern Section Division V semifinals last Thursday as Sage Hill defeated Morro Bay, 14-4. Adams came back on Monday and swept her sets in the championship match, which the Lightning won, 10-8, over Aquinas.

Daily Pilot

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