Peninsula Still Rules Court, Defeating Newport Harbor

If anyone doubted whether Palos Verdes Peninsula was still the preeminent girls’ tennis team in the Southern Section, they probably don’t anymore. Not after Peninsula’s convincing 11-7 victory over host Newport Harbor, Orange County’s top-ranked team.

Peninsula (5-0) won all nine doubles sets from Newport Harbor, which had won its first four matches and was supposed to be the deepest team in the county. The only thing that made Tuesday’s match competitive was the singles play of Newport Harbor’s Natalie Braverman and Audra Adams, who swept their three sets.

“I thought we’d get two points from our No. 1 doubles team [Chelsea Godbey and Jenny Meyer], but it didn’t happen,” Newport Harbor Coach Fletcher Olson said. “I think they were overwhelmed. They played the hardest they could.”

But Peninsula had more talent and more resolve. The Panthers, who have won seven Division I titles in eight years, are still smarting over Newport Harbor ending their 122-match unbeaten streak in 1996.

“That pushes us to win a little more,” said Peninsula senior Christine Tjong, who dropped only three games at No. 2 doubles with Christine Setian. “We bring it up every time we play them.”