The Coronado High School girls’ varsity tennis team wrapped up its season on Oct. 30 after losing to Clairemont High School in the CIF Division 3 team tournament.
Coronado, who stepped into the season with an unconventional squad made up of four varsity returners and a roster full of athletes recruited from other sports, was seeded fifth coming into the Division 3 tournament.
In the first round of the playoff tournament, Coronado defeated Valley Center High School by a score of 12-6 on Oct. 29. Two sets of doubles partners – Lilah Cade and Logan Shapiro, and Brynn Belong and Sam Aldworth – each won three sets, followed by Casilida Sanchez and Josephine Zwierzynski securing two wins. In the singles tournament, Grace Elardo took home two wins and Ella Peterson and Rio Kramer each secured one.
Islanders eliminated in the quarterfinals
The quarterfinal match the next day was a three-hour-thriller as the Islanders faced up against the Clairemont Chieftains. After a hard fought battle, the match was tied up with a score of 9-9 – Grace Elardo leading singles with two sets, followed by Ella Peterson winning one set, and three doubles duos each winning two sets. After tallying each individual game to determine a tiebreaker, Clairemont was declared the winner by a score of 80-77.
Despite the loss, assistant varsity coach Beth Elardo said she believes each Coronado athlete played their best tennis of the season during that match.
“[Varsity head coach] Dennis Navarro and I are proud of the players,” said Beth Elardo. “They had a wonderful season and played a very competitive match against Clairemont. Every player on this team was a key contributor this season.”
Clairemont went on to win the Division 3 title after defeating Valhalla High School in the semifinals 10-8 and University City High School in the finals 10-8.
Eyes set on Division 3 title next year
Grace Elardo led the Islanders in wins this year with an overall record of 45-8, while Shapiro led in doubles wins with a record of 38-17. Both athletes were selected as First Team All-League in the San Diego City Conference, Eastern League for girls’ tennis. They each qualified to compete in the CIF Open Division Individual Tournament that began on Nov. 5, but were eliminated in the first round.
Next season, Beth Elardo hopes to see the Coronado girls win the Division 3 CIF Team Tournament and Eastern League conference.
“The positive experiences and teachable moments we had this season are going to fuel the team to come back stronger next year,” said Elardo.
