LJ Country Day takes third consecutive CIF Div. III title The La Jolla Country Day varsity girls’ tennis players have taken one match at a time this season with one goal in mind: to win their third consecutive CIF team championship title. After a long season of taking on strong teams, the Torreys brought home the title once again on Oct. 26. The young team overcame its early season struggles with its doubles game and inconsistent results, and players pushed their limits throughout the championships. In the first two rounds, the Torreys took on Clairemont High in the round of 16 and The Bishop’s School in the quarterfinals. Between the two matches, the Torreys only dropped 6 of 36 sets. Although they won easily, the team’s performance was not perfect. Easy errors and lackluster focus plagued some matches, but fortunately, the girls were able to take control and come out ahead. They recognized, however, that they would need to put their best tennis on the line in order to defend their CIF title for the third year in a row. The girls played Del Norte in the semifinals, and defeated the Nighthawks 11-7. Starting the match with a lot of energy was vital for this win. The Nighthawks had some solid players — particularly the team’s No. 1 singles player — and the girls were aware they would have to sweep all of their doubles sets in order to come out with at least a tie. They knew they could likely rely on Danielle Devore to bring in at least two singles sets to clinch the win. In the end, they did just that.  The players had a bit of trouble in the singles sets, but came out with two wins from Devor, who after a slow start picked up her game and dominated the rest of her matches. In the doubles sets, the girls took control with ease and only lost a total of four games out of nine sets.  On Oct. 26, the Torreys faced Coronado High for the finals of the CIF team championships at the Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma. There were strong emotions in the air and the Torreys wanted to do nothing more than to win and to help team captain Lindsey Jacobs, win her last CIF team match. The Torreys went out in the first rotation a little nervous. The doubles lineup had some trouble putting away their matches due to nerves. However, the top two singles players, Devor and Lauren Ross, took care of business. After the first rotation, the Torreys were up 5-1. On the second rotation, however, they lost three matches — one singles and two doubles — making the overall score 8-4. In the final rotation, Devor easily dominated her last match and doubles duo Kendal McGinnis and Olivia Martin clinched the overall match. The final score was 11-7. The victory marked the Torreys’ third consecutive CIF team title and fourth consecutive CIF final appearance. In addition, they won their Coastal League for the fifth year in a row, adding on to their total wins of 56 consecutive league matches. Great job Torreys and congratulations! — Cindy Sureephong, assistant coach, LJCD tennis

LA JOLLA HIGH TENNIS The 2012-13 La Jolla High School varsity girls’ tennis team brought home a CIF Div. II championship, winning first place in a hard-fought battle against Canyon Crest Academy on Oct. 26 at the Barnes Tennis Center. Rozel Hernandez and Kelly Chan were the co-captains who helped the team come together for the win. The team had a season record of 16-2, and followed strong in the footsteps of a historically high-performing LJHS team, which has won 22 championships since 1977 — now 23. Team coach Lisa Shih and assistant coach Casey McMakin put together a great group of girls and led them fearlessly throughout the season. It was another great year for girls’ tennis at La Jolla High School. Congratulations, Vikings!