Lightning bow out

SAN CLEMENTE — Everything that Sage Hill School junior Nicole Condas did on Wednesday afternoon seemed to be followed with a cough.

Condas was obviously sick. Her doubles partner Michelle Hung was, too.

“I think I got it from her,” Hung said with a laugh. “I mean, I was kind of worried about her for a while there. But she is definitely a fighter.”

Their play on the court was impressive at San Clemente. Condas and Hung swept, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 1 doubles in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 first-round playoff match.

And, though host San Clemente ended Sage Hill’s season with a 14-4 victory, the Lightning had to be content with their first season in Division 1.

Sage Hill (14-2) won its second straight Academy League title and its only two losses were to top-seeded Corona del Mar and San Clemente (16-2), which ranked No. 7 in the final Division 1 poll.

“Overall, I think it was a great experience,” first-year Sage Hill Coach Cierra Gaytan said. “My goal for them this year was to improve but have a great time. When the season was over, [I wanted them] to say, ‘I learned a lot, but I enjoyed myself in the process.’ And I really think we accomplished that as a team. I knew D1 was going to be tough, but I’m excited about it. I think next year, they’ll kind of know what to expect.”

Condas and Hung certainly provided a highlight Wednesday. In their second-round match, they rallied from a 5-1 deficit, winning six straight games to beat San Clemente’s Eva Barreira and Sydni Donovan.

“We started being a lot more aggressive,” Hung said. “We had nothing really to lose, so we just went for everything.”

But Sage Hill could claim just one more set. It also came in the second round, when Izzy Deckey and Morgan Mann edged San Clemente’s Eve Wyler and Ariana Safavieh, 7-5.

San Clemente, the South Coast League champion, led 5-1 after the first round and 9-3 after two rounds. Singles players Lindsay Hung, Sami Neilson and Jenna Yeam all swept for the Tritons, who will play at Northwood in the second round Friday.

The closest Sage Hill singles player to a win was the No. 1 player, Cat Kiani, but she fell to Hung, 6-4, in the first round.

San Clemente Coach John Stephens was certainly happy to get the victory, noting the rarity of having two league champion teams play each other in the first round of the playoffs.

“It’s a whole new way they create the divisions,” Stephens said. “There’s no weak teams anymore in Division 1.”

Sage Hill certainly didn’t believe it was weak. The Lightning players spent time after the match signing “thank you” cards for their coaches.

“It was a good learning experience,” Gaytan said. “They know what they need to work on for next year.”