Girls’ Tennis: Mesa ready to compete

Megan Broccolo was originally supposed to share tennis coaching duties at Costa Mesa High with her husband, Ryan.

Those plans changed when Ryan got a new job in Manhattan Beach. Megan is still keeping it in the family, as her mom, Kate Bjorkman, is the junior varsity coach.

Megan Broccolo, 32, is excited about her new gig as girls’ and boys’ varsity coach. She’s already three matches into her first year at the helm for the Mesa girls. A former tennis standout at University High and Boise State, she also currently works for the Southern California Tennis Assn., where she is in charge of the Red Orange Green Ball (10-and-under) program.

“You just fall in love with these kids,” she said. “These are my girls now. I look after them, I want to protect them, I want to cheer them on, I want to support them. This is like my highlight of the day ... I can honestly say that I really enjoy doing this.”

The Mustangs (2-1) provided highlights last week, with wins against Century and Crean Lutheran. Senior Gianna Valdez swept at No. 1 singles in the two victories. Freshman Alexis Voltran and junior Daisy Arroyo are also playing singles for Mesa.

The No. 1 team of sophomore Hannah Mellies and senior Nancy Le leads the doubles lineup, while senior co-captains Sarah Catania and Crystal Henriquez play at No. 2 doubles. Overall, Broccolo has five seniors in the starting lineup.

“I’m bummed about that, because I don’t want to see them leave,” she said. “These kids are good kids. They have great sportsmanship, they carry themselves well on the court. These kids have a never-say-die attitude, which I love seeing as a coach.”

Costa Mesa will try to finish top three in league and secure a spot in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs. Last year, the Mustangs finished fourth in league and missed the postseason.

Costa Mesa Girls’ Tennis

League: Orange Coast

CIF Division: 4

Head Coach: Megan Broccolo (first year)

Coaching Staff: Kate Bjorkman (JV coach)

2015 overall record: 10-9

2015 league record: 4-6 (4th place)

2015 CIF results: did not qualify

Returning starters: Three

Returning with honors: none

Coach’s Take: “Definitely one of our goals is to be one of the top [three] in league [and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs] ... Obviously I’m going to be biased and say that my girls are going to have a great year. We’ll just see. I’m sure once we do our first round of matches with everyone in our league, we’ll go from there. But our girls are playing really well. They play tough.”

One to Watch: “Senior Gianna Valdez, who has swept our last two singles matches,” Broccolo said. “She’ll hit that one more ball. She’ll be out there as long as she has to; she really has good perseverance.”

Schedule

August

30 - Lost to La Quinta, 13-5

31 - Def. Century, 10-8

September

1 - Def. Crean Lutheran, 13-5

6 - at Marina

8 - at Los Amigos

13 - at Tarbut V’Torah

15 - at Oxford Academy

16 - at Santiago

20 - Estancia*

22 - Laguna Beach*

27 - at Calvary Chapel* (Costa Mesa Tennis Club)

29 - Saddleback*

October

4 - at Godinez*

6 - at Estancia*

11 - at Laguna Beach*

13 - Calvary Chapel*

18 - at Saddleback*

20 - Godinez*

26-27 - Orange Coast League tournament at Laguna Beach

*denotes league match

*All matches at 3:15 p.m.