Orange Lutheran freshman Sophie Suh secures Southern Section singles title, Cassie Blakey and Stella Simpson-Morgan of Palos Verdes rally to capture doubles crown

CLAREMONT – Sophie Suh began what has the potential to be an exceptional prep legacy, highlighted by the first of many CIF Southern Section girls tennis titles.

Cassie Blakey and Stella Simpson-Morgan finally celebrated a championship moment Thursday that had been three years in the making for the close friends and Palos Verdes High doubles partners.

And both winners added new chapters in section history for a pair of storied programs that had patiently waited to crown their next champions.

Post-tournament interviews

Suh, a freshman at Orange Lutheran High, rallied from a first-set deficit by winning six consecutive games against Sunny Hills High senior and USC commit Daniela Borruel, helping her secure a 7-5, 6-1 victory over the two-time champion in the singles final at Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

Sophie Suh of Orange Lutheran girls tennis | Erik Boal photo

Blakey, a junior, and Oregon-bound senior Simpson-Morgan rebounded from dropping their lone set in the tournament to outlast Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks siblings Alexandra Wolf, a junior, and freshman Kingsley Wolf by a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 margin in the doubles championship match.

Suh captured the first section singles title for Orange Lutheran since Kaitlyn Christian in 2009.

Suh also became the third freshman in the past four years to win the singles championship, along with Portola’s Kenzie Nguyen in 2022 and Borruel in 2021.

Borruel also won the title last year and was the first female athlete to appear in three career singles finals since Ena Shibahara of Peninsula High in 2013-15, along with the seventh girls competitor in section history to compete in at least three singles championship matches.

Blakey and Simpson-Morgan achieved the first doubles crown for Palos Verdes since Stella Sampras-Webster and Denay (Dierks) Vogel triumphed in 1983.

Blakey and Simpson-Morgan also took advantage of a second chance in the doubles draw, following a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 semifinal setback in 2022 against Mater Dei’s Natalie Lynch and Chloe Vu, who won the past two section titles.

Blakey teamed last year with Ava Min and Simpson-Morgan was paired with Maily Huynh, both tandems losing in the section quarterfinals.

The Wolf sisters became the first competitors from Notre Dame to reach the doubles final since another pair of siblings, Aimee Oki and Erynne Oki, endured a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) loss in 2004 to Harvard-Westlake’s Amber Harper and Jennifer Kaswick.

Kingsley Wolf, left, and Alexandra Wolf of Notre Dame Sherman Oaks girls tennis | Erik Boal photo

Both Suh, as well as Blakey and Simpson-Morgan, dropped just one set each during their respective championship journeys.

Suh edged fellow freshman Sophia Dumitrascu of Yorba Linda by a 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 margin in Wednesday’s round of 16, before producing straight-set wins in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.

Suh secured a 6-1, 6-0 victory Wednesday against Mandy Oliveros of CAMS, followed by a 6-0, 6-1 semifinal triumph Thursday against Ania Zabost from Louisville.

After knocking off San Marino’s Katie-Lynn Hoang 6-2, 6-0 in the round of 16, Borruel needed three sets to defeat Portola’s Kylie Nguyen 6-3, 5-7, 10-6 in the quarterfinals.

Borruel produced a 6-4, 6-3 semifinal win Thursday against Beckman’s Kiara Deng to advance to the final, despite battling a sore left knee that had members of her support system, including her family, apprehensive over whether she would even be able to compete in the championship match.

But Borruel courageously battled through several long baseline exchanges with Suh, building a 5-3 first-set advantage in the final.

Suh showcased poise and maturity late in the opening set, recording a service break to pull even at 5-5, then securing another to close out the set in the 12th game.

Suh used that momentum to build a 2-0 lead in the second set, including a third consecutive break of Borruel’s serve.

Although Borruel recorded a service break of her own to cut the deficit in half, Suh’s effective movement and aggressive tactics were too much for the Sunny Hills standout to overcome down the stretch, as the elite ninth-grader added two more service breaks and eventually closed out the match on her second championship point when Borruel’s forehand sailed long to complete her season-long goal of winning a section title.

Daniela Borruel of Sunny Hills, left, and Orange Lutheran’s Sophie Suh | Erik Boal photo

Following convincing straight-set victories in their first five tournament matches, Blakey and Simpson-Morgan received their most significant challenge of the season in the final from the Wolf siblings, who defeated another sister pair from Aliso Niguel in the semifinals with a 6-4, 7-6 (3) triumph against Camille Allegre and Olivia Allegre.

Blakey and Simpson-Morgan prevailed 6-0, 6-1 against Crean Lutheran’s Veronica Barber and Hiuquing Sun in the round of 16, followed by a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Sierra Canyon’s Lyric Wilson and Betty Chen in the quarterfinals.

It was an emotional semifinal matchup for Simpson-Morgan, as she and Blakey eliminated Mater Dei senior Olivia Mlouk and junior Anna Cherico with a 6-4, 6-1 win. Simpson-Morgan and Mlouk, a Cal Poly commit, are frequent partners in USTA events, capturing several doubles championships together.

Blakey and Simpson-Morgan built a 4-3 first-set lead against the Wolf siblings, before the Notre Dame pair secured a pair of service breaks to win four consecutive games and seize the momentum.

Blakey and Simpson-Morgan demonstrated their experience and composure by breaking a 2-2 tie to win the next five games, forcing a deciding set and grabbing the early advantage in the third.

Despite the Wolf sisters rallying from a 5-3 deficit to pull even in the 10th game, Simpson-Morgan and Blakey held serve to regain the advantage and broke again to avoid a tiebreaker and punctuate their long-awaited championship.

Palos Verdes (26-0), which already captured the Southern Section Open Division and Southern California Regional team titles, has an opportunity to build on the excitement of the doubles crown achieved by Blakey and Simpson-Morgan when it competes at 11 a.m. PST Monday against Los Altos (24-6) in the state final at Sierra Sport and Racquet Club in Fresno.

Los Altos earned a 4-3 victory Wednesday against Central Coast Section rival Menlo School in the Northern California regional final at Broadstone Sports Club in Folsom.