Late surge helps Regents out-point Long Beach Wilson

All season long, La Reina head tennis coach Bowie Hahn has told his squad that every point counts. On Tuesday afternoon that advice paid off.

In its CIF-Southern Section Division III quarterfinal match, La Reina defeated Long Beach Wilson in points, 8380, after ending the match deadlocked at nine games apiece.

The win puts La Reina (17-1) in the semifinals against Valencia, who the Regents will play on the road today at 2 p.m.

Hahn was thrilled after learning the Regents had survived.

"You have to give credit to the entire team on this one," Hahn said. "This is a gigantic team victory. Every point by every player mattered.

"I was pretty shell-shocked when I learned we'd won, but the players were jumping up and down and going crazy. For our seven seniors, it was the culmination of four years of hard work."

Hahn gave credit to his doubles teams of senior Jackie Lauletta and freshman Taurie Bjerken, and seniors Megan Winter playing with Lauren Toohey.

With La Reina leading in games 9-7, both doubles teams scored enough points to secure the match despite losing their games. — Thomas Gase