Woodbridge Rolls to Victory Over Aliso Niguel

While others squabbled over the Southern Section’s new regionalized playoff format for another day, Woodbridge remained above the fray and stayed on course for a second consecutive Division I section title with a 14-4 quarterfinal victory over Aliso Niguel Tuesday at Woodbridge Tennis Center.

Aliso Niguel Coach Rich Ruhlen echoed the sentiments of many of the county’s boys’ tennis coaches by slamming the new regionalized format. The Wolverines (18-3) finished the regular season ranked sixth in Division I and seventh in the county but had to face fifth-seeded Dana Hills in the second round and top-seeded Woodbridge in the quarterfinals.

“We should not be playing Woodbridge today,” Ruhlen said during the lopsided first round that was swept by Woodbridge, 6-0.

During the regular season, Aliso Niguel lost to the Warriors, 16-2. Ruhlen shook up his lineup, moving Jonathon Lippert and Jason Mednick from doubles to singles. But the changes made little difference against the Warriors’ depth.

“We came out really tight,” Ruhlen said. “For us to compete with a team like Woodbridge, we have to have people stepping up and playing their best tennis of the year. What happened was, Woodbridge stepped up and played some of their best tennis.”

Woodbridge (23-0) got singles sweeps from David Lingman and Adam Artunian at No. 1 and No. 2 and a doubles sweep from No. 2, Reza Farokhpay and Tyler Call.

“For us to have any chance, I thought we had to get three points in the first round,” Ruhlen said.

Woodbridge led, 9-3, after two rounds, then clinched it when Farokhpay and Call beat Victor Carone and Chris Flynn, 6-2.

Afterward, the Woodbridge players were saying all the right things.

“A lot of the teams we’re playing are in the same position we were last year, so we’re not taking anyone for granted,” Farokhpay said.

Said No. 3 singles player Amir Bagherpour, who won two of three sets, including an upset of Chris Kan, 6-4: “This is a pretty good team we beat. For us to win CIF again, we have to continue to maintain our consistency.”

Although the regionalized playoff format has given the Warriors a tougher draw than they would have had under the old system, they don’t seem to be bothered.

“We haven’t really talked about it,” Farokhpay said. “I know it’s probably not good for some of the teams, but it hasn’t really affected us much.”

Woodbridge’s next opponent will be Sea View League rival Corona del Mar, which the Warriors have beaten twice in league.

In another Division I match:

Corona del Mar 15, Temecula Valley 3--Curtis Ellmore swept his sets, 6-1, 6-0, 6-1, and the doubles team of Samgor Chopra and Reza Jahangiri won, 6-3, 6-0, 7-6, for Corona del Mar (15-7).