Westlake girls tennis lifts CIF State SoCal Regional crown in redemption win over Peninsula
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Heading into the CIF State SoCal Regional finals against Peninsula High, Westlake High girls tennis coach Scott Yasgoor told his team to have fun, move on from mistakes and cheer on their teammates.
No. 1-seeded Peninsula had beaten No.2 Westlake a week prior in the Southern Section Open Division final.
On Saturday, in the rematch, Westlake’s chances look dimmer as the No. 6 seed. Peninsula, again, the No. 1 seed. The Warriors were aware that they weren’t expected to win.
Westlake’s game elevated as it eased into every set, and the Warriors shocked Peninsula, 5-2, after losing 11-7 in the Open Division finals.
“You know what? You guys got nothing to lose,” Yasgoor told his team. “They really played pretty relaxed. We’re playing at their venue, a lot of their family members are there and it’s a pretty high-level pressure situation. But our girls stayed relaxed and just played better tennis.”
Westlake, the Marmonte League champion for the last three seasons, won three of four singles matches and two of three doubles matches for the regional title. Junior singles player Emma Sun led the team in the final as well as throughout the season.
“She has a 4.85 GPA,” Yasgoor said. “She’s an accomplished pianist, just a fantastic unbelievable kid.”
There are six tournament players on the team who compete on weekends, which has led to dominance in singles this season. Doubles has been strong as well, and Yasgoor made the decision to pair up seniors Emma Victor and Cindy Zhang, for the regional finals, and the pair won in two sets.
Congratulations to the WHS Girls Tennis team for winning the CIF State Tennis Title! Amazing season ladies…. #OneTribe #TheConejoWay @ConejoValleyUSD pic.twitter.com/Kc997PUxvk
— Westlake HS (@WestlakeHS_CA) June 5, 2021
Westlake (15-1) beat Palisades, 6-1, in the first round of the SoCal Regionals and Canyon Crest, 4-3, in the semifinals to advance to the championship game. The Warriors played all three matches of the tournament on the road.
“They’re very confident, yet very poised at the same time,” Yasgoor said of his team. “And just a remarkable group of kids. They’re very resilient and for a lot of them, tennis is a priority and it showed on Saturday how dedicated they are.”