McClune Reaches Top Level

Even Michael McClune, a sophomore at Irvine Woodbridge, was impressed by the way he played Saturday.

“It was great,” he said. “I played probably my top game that I have in a while.”

McClune won two matches in quick succession, sweeping Cale Planck of Palm Desert, 6-0, 6-1, in the semifinals and Wesley Miller of Corona del Mar, 6-4, 6-3, in the final at the Seal Beach Tennis Center to become his school’s first Southern Section singles champion.

“I came in here with a lot of confidence,” McClune said. “Even in the past month or two, I’ve doubled my game, probably.”

That’s saying something because McClune, a Southern Section semifinalist last season who is ranked No. 1 in the boys’ 16 division in Southern California by the U.S. Tennis Assn., has been a model of consistency all year.

He finished the season with a 57-0 record in sets, helping the Warriors (21-3) advance to the Southern Section semifinals in team playoffs last week. He also won the Interscholastic division of the Ojai Valley tournament in April.

McClune turned back his only strong challenge of the day in the final against Miller.

McClune took a 4-1 lead in the first set, but the heavy-hitting Miller came back to tie the set, at 4-4.

Trailing 15-40 on Miller’s serve in the ninth game, McClune mounted his own rally, broke Miller and then held the next game to close out the set and regain control.

“I was thinking it was going to go three, but I was able to finish it off,” McClune said. “Anyone can beat anyone on any given day, but I was able to finish it off. I just played really well this tournament.”

McClune may have capped his high school tennis career with the victory. In search of greater challenges and continued progress on the court, he said he is uncertain whether he will play for Woodbridge next year.

“He’s really peaked at the right time. He could beat Sam right now,” Woodbridge Coach Ric Barth said, referring to Thousand Oaks junior standout Sam Querrey, who did not compete in the Southern Section tournament because he is playing in the French Open junior tournament.

Anaheim Canyon seniors Scott Hohenstein and Ryan Sandburg beat defending champions Andy Gerst and Nick Berger of Redondo, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, to win the doubles title, becoming only the fourth team since the tournament’s inception in 1922 to win the event twice.

Hohenstein and Sandburg won the 2003 doubles title.