The third-seeded Corona del Mar boys tennis team was too much for host Dos Pueblos on Friday, knocking the Chargers out of the second round of the playoffs, 14-4.
Sasha Gryaznov and Christian Edstrom each picked up a pair of sets to account for DP’s scoring, and there were some tough battles on the doubles side as well. Austin Cano and Sean Headley had a 5-1 lead in one of their sets before Ismean Aboubakare and Pierce Stemler surged back to win it 7-5. Malcolm Sutton and Robert Laskin kept pace with the No. 1 CDM team of Matt Fisher and Carl Fletcher for the first half of their matchup but fell just short.
DP's Richard Cheng hits a forehand.
The Chargers were also hampered by injuries and ailments to key players. In the end, Edstrom had perspective on what was a successful season.
“I’m just happy we got to the second round. I think we saved the best for last this season, and I was very impressed with our CIF results,” he said.
Coach Liz Frech provided a nice description of what happened with her team after the loss:
“After the match, the teammates gathered around each other to console one another as well as to let the loss pass by them. Soon, they were laughing. Eventually, we met at Ming Dynasty for a nice team dinner together – talking about the upcoming prom and college plans. Way to go, Chargers!”
CORONA DEL MAR 14, DOS PUEBLOS 4
Singles — CDM: Shane Korber 3-0, Ryan Peyton 1-2, Alex Carlis 1-2. DP: Sasha Gryaznov 2-1, Richard Cheng 0-2, Christian Edstrom 2-1, Stephen Long 0-1.
Doubles — CDM: Matt Fisher/Carl Fletcher 3-0, Alex Murray/Carter Wheatley 3-0, Ismean Aboubakare/Pierce Stemler 3-0. DP: Malcolm Sutton/Robert Laskin 0-2, Andy Silverstein/Eric Katz 0-3, Austin Cano/Sean Handley 0-2, Peter Shao/Robert Laskin 0-1, Eric Zmolek/Sean Simpson 0-1.
