Bolting to the top?

When the Sage Hill School girls tennis team lost in the CIF Southern

Section Division V semifinals to Malibu last year, it marked the

second consecutive season the team reached the semifinals before

suffering a 10-8 loss to the Sharks.

If the Lightning are going to flash past the semifinals, this is a

good year to do it.

Everyone returns from last year’s squad except half of the No. 1

doubles team, Sarah Flynn. The other half, junior Alle Hsu, the

team’s MVP last season, waits to see who her new doubles partner will

be.

Other top returners include last year’s co-No. 1 singles players,

juniors Sarah Geocaris and Stephanie Langer, who both shared team MVP

honors as freshmen. Geocaris and Langer are two-time first-team

All-Academy League selections.

Juniors Carassa Cummings and Salen Andrews, as well as senior

Grace Graham were second-team All-Academy League selections last

season.

Sage Hill added a solid group of newcomers to complement a stellar

returning unit. Heading the list is sophomore Ashley Adams, who

attended an American school in Japan as a freshman.

“She’s an outstanding player,” Sage Hill Coach A.G. Longoria said.

“She comes in as our No. 1 singles player. “She has a lot of

international experience. She’s an all-court player and can excel in

singles and doubles.”

Another transfer student, junior Erica Spivack, whose parents

moved here from Atlanta, could take over Flynn’s spot as Hsu’s

partner at No. 1 doubles.

“She has big ground strokes and a big serve like Lindsay

Davenport,” Longoria said.

Longoria says freshman Jaclyn Smrecek is probably the fourth best

singles player on the team, but she’ll most likely wind up at No. 2

doubles, giving Sage Hill added talent in that area. Another

freshman, Connor Carreras, also could see action in doubles.

“Two freshmen made doubles, which is difficult to do with all the

talent on this team,” Longoria said.

Sage Hill, which plays its home matches at the Balboa Bay Club

Racquet Club in Newport Beach, figures to battle it out with last

year’s Academy League champion, Fairmont Prep, for the league title.

Both teams should be atop the CIF Southern Section Division V

rankings -- the Lightning finished last year’s regular season ranked

third in the division.

“We think we can compete with Fairmont Prep and, with a little

luck, do well against them,” Longoria said. “They could also be the

team to beat in the division, along with Malibu.”

Malibu defeated Fairmont Prep, 9-9 (75-72 on games), in the CIF

Division V final last year.

With a load of experience and key newcomers, Sage Hill hopes to

sneak into the final this year.

“We’re strong, we’re deep and we’re talented,” Longoria said.

The Lightning open the season Friday at 3:15 p.m. with a road date

against Calvary Chapel.