Sarah Hawkins

School: Newport Harbor High

Sport: Tennis

Position: No. 2 singles

Class: Sophomore

Hawkins didn’t foresee her rise to the top of the Sea View League girls’ tennis ladder. After all, teammate Mara Colaizzi was the defending league singles champion. “Going into the tournament, I hoped to play Mara in the finals,” Hawkins said. Friday, top-seeded Colaizzi faltered in the semifinals of the highly competitive draw, but Hawkins, seeded third, beat No. 4 Marcie Asch of Corona del Mar, 6-1, 6-3, in the final. In the semifinals, Hawkins, who helped the Sailors to third place in the league in team play, avenged her only league losses of the season by beating Santa Margarita’s Sandy Needham, 6-1, 6-4. Hawkins didn’t lose a set in the tournament. Needham, the seeded No. 2, led, 4-3, in the second set, but Hawkins broke her serve to tie it, 4-4, and then won the next two games. Hawkins, who was ranked among the top 15 14-year-olds in Southern California last year, said winning the title was especially rewarding. “It’s special because it’s different from any other tournament I’ve played,” she said. “My high school friends know about it. And being the underdog made it even better.”

Other top performers:

Elyse Homberger, who helped Edison win the Sunset League cross-country title by winning the three-mile race in 18 minutes 18 seconds.

Kelly Roda, who won the Sea View League cross-country title, finishing the three-mile course at Woodbridge High in 17:40 for Irvine.

Luann Petix, who had 35 assists, three kills and three aces in Los Alamitos’ sweep of Cypress that gave the Griffins a share of the league title.

Johanna Pursley and Kristi McNitt, who had 21 and 18 kills, respectively, in Irvine’s five-game volleyball upset of then-third-ranked Newport Harbor.