No Surprise: Campbell Hall Seeded No. 1 in Girls' Tennis Playoffs

In one of the least surprising announcements of the season, the Campbell Hall girls' tennis team received the No. 1 seed in Southern Section Division I playoff pairings released Monday.

After cruising the regular season undefeated, the defending champion Vikings open at 2 p.m. Thursday at L.A. Valley College against the winner of Tuesday's wild-card match between Redondo and Northwood.

"I feel pretty confident" said senior Sarah Lee, who last week repeated as Alpha League singles champion. "But we also have the mindset that we shouldn't be too overconfident and can't let last year's championship affect how we play now."
Dana Hills, the team Campbell Hall (13-0) defeated in last year's final is the only team to give the Vikings a close match this season. A rematch in the final is likely as the Dolphins are seeded second.

Team finals are Nov. 22 at the Claremont Club.

A series of rainouts left Campbell Hall without a match against a ranked opponent since the 10-8 victory over Dana Hills on Sept. 29. The Dolphins are the only team this season to lose to the Vikings by fewer than 10 points, making Campbell Hall look forward to the postseason and the potential for a challenge for a long time.

"We can't wait for the playoffs," Vikings coach Steve Kuechel said as he watched his team claim both the singles and doubles titles at least week's league finals.

Redondo and Northwood both earned at-large berths into the postseason, and neither of Campbell Hall's potential second-round opponents –Palm Springs and San Clemente—were league champions, so the Vikings may still have to wait a while for a challenge.

Bay League champion and No. 4 seed Peninsula looms in a likely quarterfinal matchup, Nov. 16. The teams were scheduled to play a nonleague match last month, but it was rained out.

Campbell Hall has lopsided victories this season against five of the teams in the Division I draw, including No. 3 seed University, the Pacific Coast League champion that lost to the Vikings 15-3.

In addition to a strong singles contingent anchored by Lee and Sabrina Santamaria, Campbell Hall has depth in doubles, led by defending division champions Valerie Thong and Zoe Katz, who have lost just one set this season –to fellow Vikings Ava Sadeghi and Alexis Pereira in last week's Alpha League final.

With a victory Thursday, Campbell Hall would next play Saturday.