HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP: Doubles teams in the spotlight

Jonee Earl has said that the Laguna Beach boys’ tennis doubles teams have been dominant all year and her singles players had come on strong as the season progressed.

Both groups of players proved their coach right this week.

Three Laguna doubles teams advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 Orange Coast League tennis finals with two of those teams playing Wednesday for the league crown. In the end, it was the tandem of junior Noah Michelon and senior Ben Biscarrat who claimed the title with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over senior teammates Jared Berkson and Graham Unterberger. The Laguna teams were the top two seeds in the doubles tournament.

The third Breakers doubles team in the semis, senior Sean Ochwat and sophomore Mikey Rubel, had their run ended in the semis following a 6-1, 7-5 loss to Berkson and Unterberger.

Ochwat and Rubel, however, bounced back to take third-place with a 6-1, 6-4 win over seniors Nick Oliver and Chris Koreerat of Estancia.

Laguna’s fourth doubles team in the tournament, sophomore Paul Salomon and senior Bryant Schulman, narrowly lost in the second-round, 6-7, 7-6, 10-5, to Oliver and Koreerat.“Ben and Noah seemed to breeze through the tournament,” Earl said. “They’re a really strong team and our most notable team heading into CIF.

“Our top four doubles players went undefeated in league and Jared had just one loss.”

Freshman Jake Michaels played for the singles title but fell in the final to senior Brad Fisher of Estancia.

Michaels had reached the final by virtue of a 6-4, 6-0 second-round win over Estancia junior Danny O’Neil followed by a big 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 semifinal win over another Estancia player, junior Ely Zaidler who was the tournament’s top seed.

Michaels and teammates, freshman Benito Romeo and junior Rex Miller, each had a first-round bye. A fourth Breakers singles player, sophomore Alex Gromet, defeated junior Trevor Dalbey of Calvary Chapel 8-1 in an eight-game pro-set but lost a second-round game 6-0, 6-0 to Zaidler.

Romeo was eliminated in the second-round by junior Alex Grosek of Calvary Chapel 3-6, 6-0, 10-5 and Miller fell in the second round to Fisher 6-3, 7-5.

“It was an incredible effort by Jake,” Earl said. “He played his heart out — both players did, actually — against Zaidler. Jake was cramping at the end of that match very badly and then lost to Fisher.

“He’s really grown as a player since the season began.”

The league prelims and finals were played at Alta Laguna Park and Laguna Beach High.

Laguna begins the CIF-SS playoffs next week.

Boys’ Volleyball

Laguna clinched a spot in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs for the 35th consecutive year, after it dominated its final two games on the Orange Coast League schedule.

The Breakers are now 17-7 overall and 8-1 in league play.

Laguna routed host Estancia Tuesday in a three-straight game match 25-15, 25-13, 25-15.

On April 25, Laguna swept Costa Mesa for the third time this season, winning 25-10, 25-13, 25-19 at Dugger Gym.

“We played well to get here and now we have to get ready for the playoffs,” Laguna Coach Lance Stewart said. “We still have to get a lot better if we want to win the finals.”

Against Estancia Tuesday, Shawn Merz recorded 12 kills, Cooper Gwaltney had 11 digs, Clay Knapp had 19 assists and Travis Woloson had 11 assists.

In the Costa Mesa match, Gwaltney had nine kills followed by Lorenzo Torriero and Scottie Chapel with eight each. Gwaltney recorded 11 digs and Knapp and Woloson had 20 and 15 assists, respectively.

Laguna hosts its annual alumni game at 6 p.m. today at Dugger Gym.

Baseball

“We didn’t play defense where we needed to, and that hurt us,” Laguna Coach Jeff Sears said after his team suffered a 3-0 loss to visiting Costa Mesa Tuesday.

Two errors in the first inning allowed the Mustangs to score two runs, and another error at third base allowed for a third run in the seventh inning.

The crucial errors forced Laguna to see its dream of going to the playoffs slide further away.

The Breakers entered Tuesday with some confidence with a 2-0 win over the Mustangs on April 15.

Laguna showed glimpses of its confidence with a stellar catch in left field and a double-play. But the standout plays were offset by four errors, Sears said. A few well-executed put outs and a strikeout with the bases loaded prevented Costa Mesa from driving in more potential runs. The Mustangs stranded five runners, overall. Zach Nuno pitched well for Laguna, striking out seven.

“He dominated the game and controlled the situation,” Sears said.

The Breakers had three hits but weren’t able to score any runs.

In previous action, Laguna picked up its first win of the year against Calvary Chapel by defeating the Eagles 7-2 on April 25 at Orange Coast College.

The Breakers had suffered three prior losses to Calvary (6-2, 10-8 and 4-0) before winning the season series finale between the teams. Sears said the team executed at the plate, played very well defensively and demonstrated some solid pitching.

Laguna takes on Costa Mesa for the fourth time this season in league play when the teams meet in Costa Mesa at 3:15 p.m. today.

Ultimate Boarder

Pro surfer, Mike Morrissey, from Laguna Beach placed 43rd overall in the Ultimate Boarder contest, after he dropped out of the skateboarding event in the three-part competition due to a pulled muscle in his right leg.

Morrissey previously placed 26th in the snowboarding leg and 20th in surfing, which left him at 26th place overall until his injury.

— Mike Sciacca contributed to this story.