Corona del Mar Boys Win Tennis Tournament

Carsten Ball at No. 2 singles and Spencer Reitz at No. 4 each won key matches and were part of winning doubles teams for third-seeded Corona del Mar High, which beat unseeded Cupertino Monta Vista, 6-3, in the championship match of the fourth National High School All-American tournament Saturday at Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach.

Ball, a sophomore, routed Robert Yee of Monta Vista, 8-1, after taking a 6-0 lead. He also teamed with Brennan Roberts for an 8-3 victory in doubles, where Corona del Mar (10-0), The Times’ top-ranked Southland team, won all three matches before winning three of six singles matches.

Reitz, another sophomore, clinched the Sea Kings’ second consecutive tournament title with an 8-3 decision over Daniel Lee. He also teamed with Garrett Snyder to win, 8-4, at No. 1 doubles.

Snyder, a senior bound for Texas, suffered his first loss of the season, an 8-6 decision to Monta Vista sophomore Ken Kao. Snyder was the third victim of an upset by Kao, who also defeated Fullerton Troy senior Jeffrey Das and Brentwood senior Eric McKean in the tournament.

In other results involving area teams, No. 8-ranked North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (8-2) finished fifth in the 16-team tournament for the second season in a row by edging 2002 runner-up Menlo, 5-4, on an 8-6 win by Jon Greenberg and Andrew Segal at No. 3 doubles.

Troy, ranked No. 2 by the Times, defeated Fresno Clovis West in the seventh-place match, 7-2. No. 6 Brentwood (7-4) fell to Horace Mann of Riverdale, N.Y., 5-4, in the consolation final for ninth place.

-- Lauren Peterson

Seniors Ian Ritchie of Murrieta Valley and Phillip Reid of Oxnard Rio Mesa set meet records in the boys’ 800 and 1,600 meters, respectively, in the Meet of Champions Distance Classic at Azusa Pacific on Saturday.

Ritchie, who began running track two years ago, won the 800 in a career-best 1 minute 53.76 seconds to lead eight runners under 1:56 and break the meet record of 1:54.6 set by Mark Fritchel of Hemet in 1996.

Ritchie also ran a career best of 4:19.37 to place sixth in the 1,600, a race won by Reid in 4:13.65.

Reid’s time smashed the meet record of 4:15.6 set by Josh Spiker of Ventura in 1999 and was particularly impressive because he ran his final 800 in 2:01.9.

Another top performance was turned in by junior Mohamed Trafeh of Duarte, who won the boys’ 3,200 in a career-best 9:04.15.

The times by Ritchie, Reid and Trafeh were the fastest in the state this year.

-- John Ortega

Glendora High Athletic Director Paul Lopez has resigned as varsity football coach, saying he wants to dedicate more time to the athletic program and other projects on campus.

Lopez, 39, has been the Tartans’ athletic director and football coach for five years, but he has been part of the athletic program since graduating from Glendora in 1981. “It was a challenge to juggle both positions at the same time,” Lopez said.

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HOW TO REPORT STATISTICS

The Times will begin publishing baseball and softball statistical leaders each Wednesday. Here’s how to report your statistics:

* E-mail: [email protected]. * Fax: If your school is located in the San Fernando Valley or Ventura, Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo counties, fax to (818) 772-3179. If you are in Orange County, fax to (714) 966-5663. All other areas, including Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Kern counties, fax to (213) 237-7876.

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* Deadline: Statistics are compiled each Monday and Tuesday. Deadline for reporting is noon Tuesday.