Roundup : CLU Finds No Competition in NAIA District 3 Tennis Final

The NAIA District 3 men’s tennis championships at Christ College in Irvine on Saturday bore a closer resemblance to a Cal Lutheran intra-squad scrimmage.

The Kingsmen won every semifinal match Friday, relegating players from the four other conference teams to courtside seats and guaranteeing Cal Lutheran its third consecutive district title.

“We really have an aura of command over the tournament,� CLU Coach John Siemens said. “(Other teams) respect Cal Lutheran. You step on the court and that gives you a few points right there.�

Tony Cohen defeated Matt Simpson, 6-0, 6-0, to clinch the singles title. Cohen, a junior transfer from Cal State Northridge, was seeded eighth in the tournament.

In doubles, Cohen and Simpson beat top-seeded Paavo Salmi and Mike Gennette, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.

The Kingsmen (14-12 overall, 7-1 in conference play) will represent District 3 on May 22 in the NAIA championship at Rockhill Country Club in Kansas City, Mo.

HIGH SCHOOL TRACK

Southern Section 4-A prelims--Mike Williamson of Thousand Oaks won the boys’ 1,600 meters in a meet-best 4 minutes, 19.69 seconds at Camarillo High.

Newbury Park’s Amy Nesbitt won the girls’ 800 in 2:17.99 and Charles Brown of Channel Islands ran 39.09 in the boys’ 300 low hurdles to win his heat.

3-A--Rio Mesa’s Angela Burnham recorded meet-best times in the girls’ 100 and 200 meters at Gahr High in Cerritos.

Running into a strong headwind, Burnham ran 11.98 in the 100 and 24.71 in the 200. She also anchored the 4 x 100 relay team, which ran a meet-best 48.1.

In the boys’ division, Rio Mesa’s Mark Gruber had the day’s best time in the 800 at 1:59.38. In the 1,600 relay, Rio Mesa’s Russ Sloan, Gruber, Ahmet Baras and Scott Guerrero ran a meet-best 3:22.13.

1-A--Oak Park’s Jason Stein qualified for the division finals in four events at Arcadia High.

Stein had the top mark in the 300-meter low hurdles (39.13), was fourth-fastest in the 400 (50.03) and ran legs on qualifying efforts in the 400- and 1,600-meter relays.