LBHS Girls Tennis Team Begins Defense of League Title

Submitted by Kristine Michaels

As the Laguna Beach High's girls tennis team wraps up the extremely difficult nonleague portion of its season and after a very close loss to Sage Hill on Friday (Sept. 16), The Breakers were very happy to walk away with victory over Division II's Edison.  

At home on Tuesday (Sept. 20), the Breakers, led by coach Don Davis played extremely tough in singles, winning six of the nine sets.  Each of the singles players -- Lauren Michaels at No. 1 (3-6, 6-1, 6-0), Claire Jaeger at No. 2 (6-1, 1-6, 6-0) and Kira Hamilton at No. 3 (6-1, 0-6, 6-0) -- won two of her three sets, losing only to Edison's No. 1 player, Sara Stadfeldt. 

The match's outcome was settle in the last round when Laguna Beach's No. 2 doubles team, freshman Bailey Jaeger and sophomore Brooke Michaels (6-7, 6-4, 6-4) clinched their set against Edison's No. 1 doubles team of Kim Tieu and Stephanie May by a score of 6-4, which forced the tie.  

Brooke and Bailey won two of their three sets against Edison and outscored their three opposing doubles teams by a game score of 18-15. The other doubles win came from the No. 3 team of Chloe Mansour and Stephanie Tat. Although the No. 1 doubles team of Sarah Nederlander and Katelyn Bo (1-6, 5-7, 4-6) did not come out with any set wins, they kept their sets against Edison's No. 2 and No. 3 teams very competitive, which also helped the team come away with the tie-breaker victory over Edison.

Being coach Davis' first year with the Breakers and a largely new team this season, he has built a team with a very strong bond. The Breakers' unity was evident in singles and doubles as they fought for every point and every game. With most every set very close in doubles, and the dominant play in singles, outscoring their opponent, 40 games to 21, both contributed to the 77-71 tie-breaker victory over Edison.

The Breakers begin defense of their Orange Coast League championship today (Sept. 27) against Estancia on the Breakers' home court and their second league match is on Thursday (Sept. 29) at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel.

###

Sept. 20

Laguna Beach 9, Edison 9 (Laguna Beach wins on games, 77-71)

Singles:  LBHS 6 – Edison 3
# 1 Singles – Lauren Michaels 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 (2-1) # 2 Singles – Claire Jaeger    6-1, 6-0, 1-6 (2-1)# 3 Singles – Kira Hamilton    6-1,  0-6, 6-0 (2-1)
Doubles:  LBHS 3 – Edison 6
# 1 Doubles – Sarah Nederlander/Katelyn Bo  1-6, 4-6, 5-7 (0-3)# 2 Doubles – Brooke Michaels/Bailey Jaeger 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 (2-1)# 3 Doubles – Chloe Mansour/ Stephanie Tat  6-4, 0-6, 3-6 (1-2)

Sept. 22

University 15, Laguna Beach 3

Singles:  LBHS 3 – University 6
# 1 Singles – Lauren Michaels 1-6, 6-3, 2-1 (Def – Injury) (2-1) # 2 Singles – Claire Jaeger  0-6, 2-6, 4-6 (0-3)# 3 Singles – Kira Hamilton  2-6, 0-6, 6-0 (1-2)
Doubles:  LBHS 0 – University 9
# 1 Doubles – Sarah Nederlander/Katelyn Bo 0-6, 1-6, 1-6 (0-3)# 2 Doubles – Brooke Michaels/Bailey Jaeger 3-6, 3-6, 2-6 (0-3)# 3 Doubles – Chloe Mansour/ Stephanie Tat 1-6, 0-6, 1-6 (0-3)

Sept. 26

San Clemente 16, Laguna Beach 2

(With # 1 Singles Lauren Michaels out due to illness, Coach Davis once again forced to change up his lineup.)

Singles:  LBHS 0 – San Clemente  9 
# 1 Singles – Kira Hamilton  1-6, 0-6, 0-6 (0-3) # 2 Singles – Brooke Michaels  0-6, 0-6, 1-6 (0-3)# 3 Singles – Stephanie Tat 0-6, 0-6, 0-6 (0-3)
Doubles:  LBHS 2 – San Clemente 7
# 1 Doubles – Sarah Nederlander/Kate Mc Mahon  2-6 (0-1)# 1 Doubles – Sarah Nederlander/Maddy Loomis  1-6, 1-6 (0-2)# 2 Doubles – Claire Jaeger/Bailey Jaeger  0-6, 2-6, 6-0 (1-2)# 3 Doubles – Katelyn Bo/Chloe Mansour  6-3, 4-6, 4-6 (1-2)