NEWPORT BEACH — Coach A.G. Longoria may still have a minor doubles controversy on his hands, but otherwise things are still going swimmingly for the Sage Hill School boys’ tennis team.
Sage Hill cruised by Gahr, 16-2, Saturday at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs.
The Lightning (15-9) will play at No. 2-seeded Rowland of Rowland Heights in the quarterfinals Tuesday at 3 p.m. Rowland beat Silverado, 14-4, on Saturday.
For Sage Hill, senior Karam Sethi and junior Kevin Wang both swept in singles against Gahr, as did the doubles teams of Andrew Yun and Andrew Kurzweil, as well as Grant Gerdau and Alex Koeberle.
At No. 3 doubles, Longoria tried three different combinations Saturday. He said he may stick with the third of those combinations, junior Greg Berchtold and freshman Sean Batten, who defeated Gahr’s No. 1 team, 6-3.
“If you get to the [CIF] quarterfinals and you’re a championship-level team, you have to produce at No. 3,” Longoria said. “We’re still trying to find the right mix at that spot.”
Sage Hill advances to the CIF quarterfinals for the fifth straight year. The Lightning boys have lost in the quarters the previous four years.
COSTA MESA — With rare losses by its No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, the Estancia boys’ tennis team lost Saturday, 10-8 to Santa Ynez in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs.
The Eagles were missing their usual doubles team in the No. 1 spot. Nick Oliver and Chris Koreerat normally play No. 1 doubles, but were moved to third because Koreerat had to leave to attend his brother’s graduation.
Both No. 1 singles and No. 2 singles players Bradley Fisher and Ely Zaidler had played near-perfect seasons before Saturday, sweeping every opponent except Laguna Beach.
Fisher lost two sets to the Breakers April 22, while Zaidler swept. When the two teams met April 15, Zaidler dropped a set to Benito Romeo and Fisher swept.
“I don’t think they were a better team that us,” said Estanica Coach Rachel de los Santos. “I think on any given day, they could beat us or we could beat them. I just think they came out a little more confident in the first round.”
After the first round, Santa Ynez led 4-2, and widened the lead to 8-4 after the second round.
