COSTA MESA SUMMER JUNIOR CLASSIC:Edles back on track

COSTA MESA — In the high school sports world, there really is no substitute for a CIF Southern Section Division I championship ring.

Still, Calabasas High’s Sabrina Man-Son-Hing got a small slice of revenge Thursday at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

Man-Son-Hing and her partner, Estancia High’s Ellie Edles, toppled No. 1-seeded Karen Ishii and Danielle Kaiden of Corona del Mar High in the girls’ 16 doubles semifinals, 6-3, 6-2.

Edles and Man-Son-Hing advance to today’s championship match, scheduled for noon against CdM resident Neda Ghassemi and Courtney Pattugalan of Irvine.

As part of the Calabasas High tennis team, it was Man-Son-Hing who Ishii, Kaiden and their Sea King teammates beat last fall. CdM beat Calabasas, 14-4, last November en route to an undefeated season and the Division I title.

“I knew she looked familiar,” Kaiden said. “I remembered her.”

The top-seeded Kaiden and Ishii, who will both be juniors at Corona del Mar, are used to winning. They had a combined doubles record of 79-9 last season, but the Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic was their first tournament together since last fall.

Edles and Man-Son-Hing, meanwhile, stuck to an aggressive game plan, crashing the net whenever they could and forcing the CdM duo to either lob or try a passing shot.

They were up a break for most of the first set, then cruised to a 3-0 lead in the second set.

“We kind of knew we’d do better the more aggressive we were,” said Edles, who is also an incoming junior.

Man-Son-Hing, who played with Edles once in girls’ 12s before Edles started experiencing back problems, agreed with her partner.

“We tried to get to the net and start closing out at the net,” Man-Son-Hing said. “I think that’s what our games are more focused toward. Ellie did especially well with that. She did so well, and she got up there for the lobs and everything.”

Kaiden found the “getting up there” part hard to do. After the match, she stood barefoot, her left foot still very sore. She tore off the toenail on her big toe during her girls’ 16 singles quarterfinal match the day before.

Thursday, that meant she had trouble on her serves, among other things.

“It was so gross,” she said. “It definitely still hurts really bad.”

No worries for her and Ishii though. They’re just getting back into the swing of things, as the high school season comes closer and closer.

“[CdM Coach Brian Ricker] likes us to play tournaments, singles and doubles,” Ishii said.

It should give Ishii and Kaiden just enough experience to help them star again for the Sea Kings in their junior year.

“We’re probably both going to play doubles again,” Kaiden said, before she corrected herself. “Well, no, we are both going to play doubles, so it was good.”

Edles, who beat Ishii in the girls’ 16 singles earlier in the tournament before losing in the quarterfinals, is playing her first tournament in almost two years without a back brace.

She said it feels good to just be more comfortable on the court.

“It’s really exciting,” Edles said. “It’s really fun to be playing two events again, and I like doubles a lot. I feel like I actually understand the game, and it’s fun to play with someone who’s really good at doubles, too.”

In other action from Thursday at the 15th annual Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic (locals only):

Girls’ 18 singles: Alex McIntosh (Costa Mesa) def. No. 2 Jordan Heitzner, 6-2, 7-6, in the semifinals to advance to today’s final.

Boys’ 12 singles: No. 1 Dante Saleh (Newport Beach) def. No. 3 Jenteel Alcafaras, 6-3, 6-3, in the semifinals to advance to today’s final.

Boys’ 10 singles: Austin Di Giulio (N.B.) def. No. 2 Ryan Moss, 4-6, 7-5, 10-6, in the semifinals to advance to today’s final.

Boys’ 14 doubles: Christian Ball (N.B.) and Matthew Chung def. Ismaen Aboubakare (CdM) and Caleb Kim (N.B.), 6-2, 7-5, in the semifinals to advance to today’s final.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at [email protected].