Estancia, winning, grinning

Rachel de los Santos became the Estancia High girls coach before

last season in order to, in part, flex her tennis muscles. A little

more than a year later, it’s her cheek muscles, the ones used to

shape a broad smile, that are getting an even better workout, as the

Eagles have enjoyed their early transition from the Pacific Coast

League to the Golden West League.

“The whole school is smiling,” said the 25-year-old de los Santos,

a former four-year varsity player at Alta Loma High who volunteered

last fall to walk through the revolving door of coaches that has been

one of many factors contributing to the program’s struggles in recent

years.

“I had never coached before, but I played tennis and I still loved

the game,” de los Santos, who teaches biology at Estancia, said. “I

wanted to do it for the kids and I thought it would be a good way for

me to stay in shape. I don’t just walk around and coach, I hit with

the girls.”

The Eagles are definitely a hit in the Golden West League, having

won three of their first four matches heading into a crucial showdown

Thursday at Costa Mesa, which also came over to the Golden West from

the PCL.

The Eagles handled Ocean View, 15-3, edged Westminster, 10-8, then

dispatched Saddleback, 16-2, before falling to Santa Ana, 13-5. After

playing Costa Mesa, Estancia finishes up the first round of league

play against Orange.

“Costa Mesa is probably going to be our biggest competition,” de

los Santos said of the Mustangs, who swept the Eagles in two PCL

meetings last season.

Thankfully, last season, which included an 0-10 league record, is

a memory for the Eagles, who have taken similar doses of humility

this fall in nonleague losses to Northwood and Calvary Chapel, both

16-2 verdicts.

“Even though we’re doing well in league, we still know there are

teams out there who can beat us and beat us pretty good,” de los

Santos said.

Still, contending for a league title has provided several fringe

benefits, not the least of which, de los Santos said, is fielding

positive feedback on campus from students, fellow teachers, and

administrators.

“There seems to be a lot of excitement and we’re having a lot of

fun,” she said. “It was discouraging last year, for the girls, as

well as for me. We pretty much knew, walking into a league match,

that we weren’t going to win. We were playing against nationally

ranked players (from the likes of Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach and

University). It got to a point where there wasn’t much incentive to

practice.”

That has all changed this season.

“It feels much more organized this year,” de los Santos said.

“And, since the girls know they have a chance to win, our practices

our tougher. We’ve even been working on strategy, which we didn’t do

last year.”

Seniors Karleen Curran and Kelly Trettin, as well as junior Stacie

Nellor, have been the most consistent singles performers, while

juniors Huong Thai, Kittiya Sudhikam, Melissa Morton and Asia Ingram,

senior Maxine Postel, sophomores Yvonne Zaidler and Leslie Ybarra, as

well as freshman Heather Morton, have all been part of an effective

doubles rotation.

“I had a feeling we would do a lot better this year, but I wasn’t

sure, because I had not ever seen the new (Golden West) teams,” said

de los Santos, who also coaches the Estancia boys tennis team.

*

There are three Newport-Mesa area football teams ranked in the CIF

Southern Section Top 10 polls this week and Newport Harbor is not one

of them.

Corona del Mar (2-0) is No. 4 in Division IX, Costa Mesa (1-1) is

No. 7 Division VII and Sage Hill (2-0), in its first varsity season,

has cracked the Division XIII poll at No. 7.