The Sage Hill varsity tennis team is ready for a CIF victory. Sitting at a record of 11-4 overall and 2-0 in league play, the Lightning have combined dominant home performances with a pair of league wins. These wins have positioned them for a solid postseason run despite fielding one of the youngest teams in the CIF southern section.
The Lightning have, outscored opponents by wide margins in several non-league matchups. Sage Hill shut out Capistrano Valley and Orange by a combined 36-0, and defeated Dana Hills, El Dorado, Aliso Niguel, and Cerritos by a combined margin of 65-7.
The four losses in non-league play came against Newport Harbor, Woodbridge, University High School, and Northwood – all nationally prominent programs.
In league play, Sage Hill opened with a 15-3 win over St. Margaret’s before securing another 15-3 win over Laguna Beach,
Junior captain Sam Jindal said the team is focused on closing the regular season strong.
“Our goal is to win out throughout the Pacific Hills League,” Sam said. “We currently have four more matchups, all against league opponents. And Sage Hill will be hosting the league tournament this year for the first time in 10-plus years, getting wins there and having Sage at the top of the league is a big goal.”
He also pointed to recent CIF shortcomings as a source of motivation for success this year.
“These past two years, we’ve come short in CIF the first or second round,” he said. “Our goal is to really go past those roadblocks and hopefully bring home the CIF championship.”
10th-year head coach Whit Kenerson echoed this sentiment and acknowledged the team’s untapped potential.
“Unfortunately, this year, we have not had our whole roster together except for one match. So I feel like when our whole team’s together, we have a lot of attention. We can do really well,” Kenerson said.
This year, the team lost two nationally ranked players: Alex Park and Alex Croitoru. Sophomore Vayu Mansukhani credited the team’s ability to rebound after losing two of its best players.
“Considering that we lost a lot of good players last year, our team has bounced back really well,” Vayu said. “We’ve come out on top in a lot of games, and hopefully we can replicate that in the playoffs.”
