San Marcos’ girls tennis team gets together for a league title team photo.
San Marcos clinched the Channel League championship outright on Thursday in a 10-8 victory over Buena. The Royals were helped by Santa Barbara High’s victory over Dos Pueblos.
“I could not be more proud of this team and how fantastic this is for the high school,” said Royals head coach Fred Hartzman. “We had some high goals this season, beating SB for the first time in 20+ years and winning the channel league were two of our goals.”
San Marcos’ success this season snaps a streak of league championships by Santa Barbara High dating back to the 1982 season. San Marcos shared the league title with the Dons in 1998 but this is the first time the Royals have won the championship outright.
“This is historic for the San Marcos and I am proud to be the coach of this team. They have lived up to all the expectations I had put on them,” Hartzman said.
The Royals were bolstered this season by the presence of freshmen phenoms Yuka Perera and Kelly Coulson, plus help from senior transfer Sarah Yang.
San Marcos will be the Channel League’s No. 1 seed when CIF pairings are released in early November. In the meantime, the Royals will finish out their league schedule followed by the league individual championships.
