Girls tennis preview: Beckman at No. 1 in season’s first Orange County top 10

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ORANGE COUNTY TOP 10

(Records through Sept. 8)

1. Beckman (6-2): The Patriots return six of nine starters from their CIF Division 1 runner-up team, including seniors Vicky Aguirre and Kaitlyn Nguyen. The team recently lost all-league junior Allie Vu to a knee injury but remain contenders in the tough Pacific Coast League. Beckman went 2-2 in its Fall Showcase, losing to Arcadia and Peninsula.

2. Aliso Niguel (5-1-1): The defending South Coast League champion finished 3-1-1 at the Fall Showcase, edging Woodbridge on games, tying University and falling to Beckman on games. The Wolverines are led by the senior duo of Kei Kato (UC Riverside commit) and Sasha Ozerets. Both have UTR ratings in the 8 range.

3. Woodbridge (4-2): The Warriors’ strong start includes victories against reigning CIF Open Division champion Peninsula on games at Beckman’s Fall Showcase and defending Division 3 champion Villa Park.

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4. Huntington Beach (2-0): The Oilers, who reached the Open Division playoffs last year, are deep and already beat Villa Park 10-8. The Spartans, however, were without O.C. player of the year Grace Gamal (quarantine).

5. Corona del Mar (2-1): The Sea  Kings don’t have a highly-touted singles player but the Open Division qualifier last season showed depth while defeating Portola 10-8 and University 9-9 in a tiebreaker after games were locked 73-73. Their doubles are strong.

6. University (1-3-1): Coach John Kessler’s powerhouse program is dealing with a few injuries and off to a slow start. The Trojans finished 1-2-1 at Beckman’s Fall Showcase and lost on games to Corona del Mar on Wednesday. Senior Jane Lee leads the Trojans, and watch for versatile Megan Bee and UC Irvine commit Nour Khayat.

7. Villa Park (2-1): The reigning CIF Division 3 champion Spartans return a strong singles trio of senior Grace Gamal, the defending CIF champion, sophomore Morgan Shaffer and surging junior Jordyn Kuo. Junior Sidney Shaffer helps lead the doubles while also playing volleyball.

8. Laguna Beach (2-0): The Breakers feature a singles trio that rivals Villa Park with the MacCullum sisters and Katelyn Smith. With improved doubles, they could do some damage.

9. Portola (4-4): With Isabella Chhiv, the county’s top-rated player with a 10 UTR, the Bulldogs can be a tough team to beat.

10. Mater Dei (1-0): The defending Trinity League champion returns its league champion doubles team of Natalie Lynch and Athena Wardy, plus it added Haley Tran, one of the top freshmen in the county.

Also considered (listed in alphabetical order): Foothill, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Sunny Hills, Tesoro, Troy