Estancia

LAGUNA BEACH ? Illness and lineup shifts shaped the way the Orange Coast League girls? tennis match between Estancia and Laguna Beach was played Thursday at Laguna Beach High. Both teams were without a key player and their absences forced Eagles Coach Rachel de los Santos and Breakers Coach Jimmy Gleason to move other players into different slots. Those changes did nothing to prevent a spirited effort by both teams that, in fact, played to a 9-9 tie. The Breakers, however, took the victory by virtue of a 77-71 advantage in games won. The loss, the first in league play for Estancia, sent the Eagles to 2-1 in league and 8-4 overall.

It wasn’t a stroke of luck that gained the Laguna Beach girls’ golf team a huge Golden West League victory Tuesday. It was several strokes of great play that lifted the surging Breakers. In a key contest against host and defending league champion Estancia, Laguna won the match by just two strokes, 221-223, on the Mesa Linda Golf Course (par 35) at Costa Mesa Country Club. The victory propelled Laguna into a two-game lead over Estancia in the Golden West League standings and has the Breakers in line for an outright championship.

The showdown turned into a beat down. With a portion of the Orange Coast League lead riding on the outcome of the Oct. 12 game between Laguna Beach and Estancia, it was the Breakers who dominated the action and posted a 48-14 victory on the defending champions' home turf. It was the first loss in 13 league games for the Eagles, whose last setback came three years ago on the same field to Laguna. The Estancia win is now in the past for Laguna, Coach Mike Churchill said. What presents itself to the Breakers on Friday is another league challenge, this one coming from Calvary Chapel.

Pairing dominant doubles play with a few but key wins in singles action, the Laguna Beach High boys? tennis team won its third consecutive Orange Coast League match, as the Breakers upended host Estancia, 11-7, April 3. The Breakers (3-0 in league) dominated doubles action as the No. 1 team of Ben Biscarrat/Jared Berkson (6-1, 6-0, 6-0), No. 2 Noah Michelson/Mikey Rubel (6-1, 6-2, 6-0) and No. 3 Sean Ochwat/Paul Salomon (6-1, 6-2, 6-1) swept their Eagles opponents. No. 1 Jake Michaels (7-6)

The Orange Coast League cluster cross-country meet Oct. 30 at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa ended with a first for the Laguna Beach High boys? cross-country team. The Breakers, competing without their No. 1 and 2 runners, finished second to Estancia at the varsity level. It was the first loss suffered by Laguna in league competition since the formation of the Orange Coast League at the outset of the 2006-07 school year. Matt Neev didn?t run the meet due to nursing a minor injury and Coach Dave Brobeck said he chose to give Casey Finnerty ?

Coming off its most impressive performance of the year, the Laguna Beach High football team will attempt to keep that momentum going tonight in one of its most important outings of the 2006 season. At 7 p.m. at Guyer Field, it's Homecoming, it's Senior Night and it's the final home game of the season all rolled into one evening. And oh, yeah — a red-hot Estancia team is heading into town for a key Orange Coast League clash. "I am thoroughly impressed with this team," Laguna Coach Jimmy Nolan said of Estancia.

ALISO VIEJO — Grace Komoroczy hit a few practice drives Tuesday at Aliso Viejo Country Club and declared herself ready to go. She had more time to get ready for the first match of the season, but she was prepared. “You sure?” Laguna Beach High girls’ golf Coach Val Quigley asked, to which Komoroczy casually responded, “Yeah.” A couple hours later, she proved it, shooting a two-over par 37 to nab medalist honors in a tri-meet against Aliso Niguel and Corona del Mar. Komoroczy’s round included a birdie and eagle, and though the Breakers finished third as a team in the tri-meet, they hope there’s big things ahead this season.

Things have gone pretty much as expected in the opening week of the Orange Coast League boys' volleyball season. Namely, Laguna Beach was considered beforehand to be the team to beat and so far, has proven such is the case. In two league matches so far, neither Costa Mesa nor Estancia had any luck against Laguna. In last Friday's league opener, the Breakers were pushed in the second game by Costa Mesa but still earned a sweep of the host Mustangs, 25-12, 28-26, 25-17.

The Breakers started their Orange Coast League season Tuesday at home against Estancia, and despite coming up with one of its better offensive performances of the season, fell, 51-34, at Dugger Gym. Sophomore center Jane Wallin led Laguna with 18 points and sophomore guard Audrey Rodriguez scored six points. "We played a better game offensively than we have in previous games," Laguna Coach Mark Lewis said. "Jane (Wallin) did a good job finishing at the rim on good lead passes from her teammates.

For much of Tuesday's key Orange Coast League baseball game against Estancia, it appeared that Laguna Beach would even things up with Eagles. The Breakers were on the verge of putting their season series with Estancia at 1-1, but the Eagles rallied late to score single runs in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings to pull out a 2-1 victory. The setback cost the defending-champion Breakers a shot at moving into a tie for second place in the league standings and closer to league-leading Calvary Chapel.

For only the second time in the last 50 years, the Laguna Beach baseball team can call itself league champion. Laguna secured the 2013 Orange Coast League title Tuesday when it overwhelmed host Godinez, 23-2. The one-sided win pushed the Breakers' school-record win streak to 18 games. It also made them 12-0 in league, and 22-2 overall. The title is the first for the Breakers under second-year head coach Mike Bair. "It's big-time," Bair said of his team's accomplishment. "This is something the program has only done twice, now, in the last 50 years.

The Laguna Beach High boys' and girls' track and field teams each were victorious in their final Orange Coast League competition before heading into spring break. The Laguna girls team glided past host Estancia, 65-25, while the boys, 101-24, over the Eagles on March 27. Both Breakers teams improved to 2-0 in league. Event winners for the Laguna girls were: Tessa Hopper (100 meters); Brielle Budroe (200 meters, 1,600 meters); Johana Abarca (400 meters); Katie Greydon (800 meters)

It was a key, early road test, the Laguna Beach baseball team aced its exam. The Breakers traveled Tuesday for an Orange Coast League game with Estancia and came out firing from the get-go. They put the ball in play throughout the contest, took advantage of a few fielding errors, and had the back of pitcher Kurt Rebone who tamed the Eagles. It all added up to an 8-0 victory that kept Laguna undefeated in league play and moved the Breakers to 7-2 overall. Rebone tossed a one-hitter.

The Laguna Beach High boys' soccer team got the best of Saddleback when the teams met in an Orange Coast League opener on Jan. 9. On Tuesday in Santa Ana, the host Roadrunners returned the favor by blanking the visiting Breakers, 4-0. The loss left Laguna 2-3-2 in league, and 7-3-4 overall. Saddleback improved to 4-2-1 in league and 12-3-3 overall. "We are very disappointed with this game, not only because of the result, but also at how we responded when we went a couple of goals behind," Laguna Coach Dan Richards said.

Bret Fleming saw his Laguna Beach High boys' basketball team go through a learning and growing process the first month of the season. The Breakers won 11 of their first 17 games, although Fleming would like to have a placed a few more of those outcomes in the win column. His squad ended the nonleague portion of their schedule Saturday at the Estancia Coast Christmas Classic, and came up with a third-place finish. Laguna concluded the tournament with an impressive, 67-60 victory over Corona in the third-place game.

A sluggish start to Wednesday's opener at the Estancia Coast Classic couldn't deter the Laguna Beach High boys' basketball team from opening the tournament with a big win. The Breakers began to pull away from Newport Harbor in the second half at Estancia High, and went on to claim a 59-45 victory over the Sailors. The win moved Laguna to 9-5 overall and came on the heels of an impressive, double-digit win Saturday over Corona del Mar. "I don't think either team played well at the start," Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said.

The showdown turned into a beat down. With a portion of the Orange Coast League lead riding on the outcome of the Oct. 12 game between Laguna Beach and Estancia, it was the Breakers who dominated the action and posted a 48-14 victory on the defending champions' home turf. It was the first loss in 13 league games for the Eagles, whose last setback came three years ago on the same field to Laguna. The Estancia win is now in the past for Laguna, Coach Mike Churchill said. What presents itself to the Breakers on Friday is another league challenge, this one coming from Calvary Chapel.

Keeping its reign atop the Orange Coast League girls' volleyball standings has been a season-long goal for Laguna Beach. Heading into the final week of league play, the Breakers have a tight hold on the top spot and have showed no signs of relinquishing that crown. Laguna took another step toward a repeat title Tuesday by sweeping visiting Estancia, 25-15 25-12, 25-21. The win put the Breakers (13-5) at 7-0 in league. Laguna played a league match Thursday at Calvary Chapel, but the score wasn't available at press time.

At 7 p.m. Friday, a showdown for the early lead in the Orange Coast League championship race will go down at Jim Scott Stadium, where Laguna Beach travels to face Estancia. The game pits teams ranked in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division top 10 poll. It's the No. 3 Breakers (5-0-1) vs. the Eagles (4-2), who are tied for the No. 10 spot. In the preseason Southern Division rankings, Estancia was No. 3 and Laguna No. 4. For all the ramifications Friday's game holds, Laguna Coach Mike Churchill said thoughts about the game weren't mentioned until Saturday, the day after the Breakers started their league journey with a 49-6 victory over Saddleback.