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OC Varsity ~ High school sports talk by the staff of the Orange County Register

Tobolski: Thoughts on the boys tennis team finals

June 4th, 2009, 11:20 am · · posted by

boys_tennis_iconOrange County had four teams participating at the CIF-SS team championships Wednesday at the Claremont Club.

The county was almost shut out, but Segerstrom saved the day.

A look back at what took place:

Match of the Day: Division II, San Marino-Brentwood. Read about it here. Earlier in the day, there was a scenario setting up that had University and Thousand Oaks tying on games. The coaches and officials at the site heard about it happening, but none of them had been a part of it before. Well, it didn’t pan out in Division I final, but it happened in the Division II final.

Class act: University Trojans. The team is 90-6 over the last four years. Winning isn’t easy, and it doesn’t give you a very good look at character. Losing in big matches does. I can speak for myself when I say there are coaches who are talkative when the win, but good luck getting much from them when they lose. It’s as if they are two different people.

Trojans coach John Kessler is not that way. I have never spoken with him after a loss, and with it coming on the biggest stage, I was curious to see how he would be. He was the same graceful, spirited guy when he wins. He answered every question with class. Furthermore, the boys on the team were just a classy. I saw John Huang shaking Thousand Oaks’ hands before the match ended.

Overall, as great as the tennis was, both Thousand Oaks and University displayed the type of sportsmanship that makes high school athletics enjoyable, and a standard for others to follow. You have kids beating each other’s tails around, then they talk with one another after about how they did it. Tremendous vibe and atmosphere yesterday.

Congratulations to both schools.

Next year: That’s what Valencia and Laguna Beach are banking on. Valenica lost 13-5 to Claremont. Laguna Beach lost 15-3 to Cerritos. Both will use Wednesday’s losses as motivation for getting back and winning it next year. Both teams return the singles lineups in tact, and only lose a few players from doubles. Experience matters in the finals. The Tigers and Breakers have it now.

Player of the Day: Kyle McMorrow. University coach John Kessler said the Lancers top singles player was playing out of his mind. He was certainly coming up with shots that made me laugh in amazement. He hit a running forward that is impossible to describe here, and all I can say is I have seen a lot of high school tennis, and tennis on all levels. That was the biggest forehand I’ve seen in a long time. Furthermore, I was even more impressed that McMorrow was able to run the ball down wide in the first place. He’s tall and lanky and didn’t seem like he could get a ball like that. Forget getting it, he smacks an impossible shot. I’m still shaking my head. I looked at Corona del Mar coach Brian Ricker and we both smiled. We didn’t have to say a word.

Rolling deep: There was a huge crowd on had yesterday, and 80 percent of them could call University High School home. I couldn’t believe the support that showed up. The running joke yesterday was if you heard a bunch of noise, Uni was doing well. If you could hear the birds chirping, Thousand Oaks was doing well.

Unsung heroes: The CIF committee members and USTA officials don’t get enough credit for their job. They are by far the first to show up, and by far the last to leave. The tournament ran without any glitches, major hassles or anything worth writing about that didn’t go smooth. It was a great day for them. The people on the desk have to track down scores. They have to answer the same question from different fans throughout the day, and they are never short with them.

More from the boys tennis blog:

Posted in: Boys Tennis
 
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