St. Margaret’s hands Rio Mesa its only loss of tennis season

ON THE MARK—Rio Mesa High’s Sarah Zook hits a forehand smash during Monday’s section title match at the Claremont Club. HESTON QUAN/Special to the Acorn Steve Worthington was trying to enjoy his slice of cake.

It may have been one of the few palatable items Worthington could savor on a beautiful autumn afternoon that quickly turned gloomy.

The coach for the Rio Mesa High girls’ tennis team tried to find the positive on a day the Spartans lost for the first time all season, 12-6, in the CIFSouthern Section Division 4 championship against St. Margaret’s of San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday at the Claremont Club.

“One thing about this team is that they play with heart and great determination,” Worthington said.

“Their goals were always set very high. Even though they did not achieve their ultimate goal, they didn’t surrender and played the best tennis they could under the circumstances.”

Rio Mesa won four of the first six sets. The Spartans couldn’t maintain the momentum, however.

St. Margaret’s swept Rio Mesa’s three doubles tandems in the second round to take a 7-5 advantage, and the Tartans never looked back.

“The wheels came off,” Worthington said, sitting on the bench overlooking the center court at dusk.

The Spartans’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Claire Willey and Jenna Dobrin were 45-0 entering the section semifinals.

On Tuesday, they lost all three of their matches.

“Some days it happens—they just didn’t play well,” Worthington said. “I know they’re frustrated. They’re great players. They just had a bad day.”

Sonia Landeros, a senior singles player, did what she could to keep Rio Mesa afloat against the top-seeded team in the tournament.

Landeros, who was fighting a cold, pulled off a 7-5 comeback win over Melanie Hess at center court. She also upended Zoe Odekeric, 6-2, but fell to Tiffany Cheng, 2-6.

Although the loss hurt, Landeros reflected on a successful season.

Rio Mesa finished 24-1.

“It was an amazing year,” she said. “My friends are on this team, and it was easy to get along. We did well together.”

Rio Mesa’s doubles duo of Jialun “Isabella” Xiong and Allison Clayton won two of three matches, pulling out 6-1 and 6-2 victories.

The tandem of Meghan Richardson and Savannah Arnot won one of three matches for the Spartans. Teammate Jessica Vizents also won one match.

When it was all over, the Spartans could barely watch as St. Margaret’s celebrated at the center stage before and after the awards ceremony.

Worthington proudly held up the runner-up trophy, and his players clapped as the victors received the spoils of conquest.

As the Spartans trudged up the bleachers to retrieve their equipment, a female RMHS student tried to cheer up the players.

“You guys are cuter!” she hollered, a comment that garnered mild laughter.

The Spartans advanced deeper into the postseason than any other team in school history, and Worthington has coached three individual champions.

Rio Mesa will say goodbye to seven seniors and one exchange student next year among nine starters. Dobrin, a sophomore, will be the lone returning starter in 2010.

Worthington said the current senior class set a new standard for tennis at RMHS. The seniors earned 79 team victories in four years, the coach said.

“It was the best group of seniors to ever come through Rio Mesa,” Worthington said. “They’re very special. They’re personable and classy girls. They’re excellent students, and they’re genuinely good people.”

Worthington was proud of his Spartans’ sportsmanship in defeat—even if the tennis court-shaped cake wasn’t entirely satisfying.

“We didn’t sulk. We didn’t whine,” he said. “They have hearts of champions.”