Malibu High Sharks girls tennis player Ana Mitrovic’s toughest match this season was in the Citrus Coast League championship singles final in early November.
Mitrovic, a 15-year-old sophomore, defeated Carpinteria’s Izzy Scott in a match that lasted three hours.
The two players faced each other twice previously this season with Mitrovic winning one match and Scott claiming the other. Mitrovic lost the first set of their championship bout, but then had a brief internal discussion, she remembered.
“I said, ‘I need to win this. I’ve worked so hard for this,’” Mitrovic recalled. “I was focused. It was [a] really insane focus. Every play I was fighting for. Every ball, I was fighting for it. I was determined.”
The victory over Scott was a highlight of the season, Mitrovic stated. “I told all my friends,” she said. “I was really happy. It made me just continue working hard.”
The league finals victory was one triumph in a season of several for Mitrovic. As the Sharks No. 1 singles player, she helped the team win the CIF Southern Section Division 7 girls tennis title on Nov. 18. She also advanced to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Individual Tennis Regionals on Nov. 25 to cap off her season.
“I’m really happy with how it turned out,” Mitrovic said. “Winning CIF with the team and the league final, were two of my best matches.”
Other Sharks fall athletes and squads had standout seasons and made postseason appearances also.
The cross country team had several standout performers. Girls runner and Citrus Coast League MVP Tallula Murphree ran to a first-place finish in the league finals with a time of 19 minutes, 44.7 seconds.
Boys runner Trent Williams’s 15:57.8 run placed him third in the league finals race. Ranger Murphree, Tallula’s brother, finished eighth in 16:37.1. The two boys were named to the All-Citrus Coast League team.
Williams and the Murphrees, all seniors, advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 5 preliminaries and then finals.
Tallula is one of only 30 Southern Section runners to qualify for finals four straight years. She had a third-place run of 20.22.7 in the prelims and finished the 117 girls-final race in 20:28.1, placing her 16th.
Williams finished the prelims with a third-place time of 16:09.1. He placed 70th in the 120-boy final with a run of 18:00.7.
Ranger’s 17:12.0 time placed him sixth in the prelims. He placed 45th in finals with a 17:19.1 run.
The football team’s season ended in the first round of the 8-Man Division II playoffs. The Sharks had a 5-5 record.
The boys water polo team’s campaign ended in the first round of the playoffs also. The squad finished the season with a 15-11 record and Tri-Valley League championship.
Mitrovic had a dominant singles victory in Malibu’s CIF championship win.
She defeated Village Christian’s Karen Shin in the first round of the CIF singles tournament 3-6, 6-1, 10-5. However, Mitrovic was beaten by Trinity Classical Academy’s Aubrey Kua 6-1, 6-0 in the next round.
Mitrovic’s first-round comeback win gave her a confidence boost.
“That win felt good because I played someone who might have been better than me, but I beat her,” she said. “One of my goals was to advance further then I did last year in CIF individuals.”
Mitrovic has played tennis since she was 3. Her father, Zoran Mitrovic, a lifelong tennis player, taught her the game and took her to tournaments.
The younger Mitrovic describes herself as a strategic player.
“I focus on placement more than strength,” she said.
Sharks girls tennis coach Quinton Kramer said Mitrovic is amazing and hardworking.
“She has a great attitude, supports her teammates all season long, and strives for excellence from herself,” she said.“We are so lucky to have Ana as a member of the Malibu High Sharks tennis team.”
Mitrovic wants to be a good team captain for the Sharks next fall.
“I want to enjoy the team and have a lot of fun,” she said.
