OC Varsity » Boys Tennis

Boys tennis: 2010 preview and storylines

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:32:14 +0000

University's Kona Luu is one Trojans who is back in 2010. Paul Bersebach, The Register

The boys tennis season is a long way off, but it's never too soon to see what might happen.

There are plenty of unknowns, yet one thing is for sure - the landscape is going to change.

Too many seniors are graduating, and too many lineups are changing for it not to have a different feel come 2010.

A preview of what it might look like:

Top 5 storylines to watch for in 2010

5. Which individual is going to fill the void?

The top senior talent is moving on, and what a bunch it is. It includes but is not limited to University's John Huang and Matt Siow, Mater Dei's Chris Freeman and Charlie Alvarado, and Dana Hills' Warren Hardie. Who takes over as the best in the county? Canyon's junior to be Denis Nguyen would be the early favorite after reaching the semifinals of Ojai and Round of 16 in the CIF-SS individual tournament.

4. Who will make more noise - Valenica or Laguna Beach?

Both teams lost in their respective division finals in CIF. Both return almost their entire lineups in tack. Both have the potential to rise in the county rankings. Which program will have the more successful year, and can either get the title they missed out on this year?

3. Which of this year's freshman class will explode?

The ninth graders were out in full force this season, leaving county tennis fans with excitement and optimism for the years to come. Which player of this group is going to be the cream of the crop? The early favorite suggests Mater Dei's sophomore to be Justin Agbayani may be the one to watch.

2. Can the county players reclaim a singles or doubles individuals championship in 2010?

County players were shut out during the individual tournament, the first time since 2000 the county didn't have an individual title holder. The last time the county went consecutive seasons without an individual champ was 1998-2000.

1. What will happen to University?

The Trojans are in transition, and who knows what that means for a team like the Trojans. They are losing three key contributing seniors, and possibly their freshman sensation. Can the Trojans absorb those depatures and still remain the dominant program they have come to be? Or are they primed to be taken down, say by a team like Corona del Mar?

Possible top 10 for 2010

1. University (Final 2009 ranking No. 1) - Trojans lose 3 key seniors from team that reached four straight CIF finals. Still, depth should be deep enough to keep Trojans tops in county.

2. Corona del Mar (3) - Sea Kings lose 2 key seniors from team that spent entire year at No. 3 in county. Sea Kings could push University for No. 1 spot.

3. Dana Hills (6) - Dolphins lose the best singles player in the county, but still have two good ones in the lineup and doubles should improve from this season.

4. Troy (4) - Warriors are tough team to gauge. They lose their No. 1 singles players and a couple key doubles guys, but this program always seems to wind up among the best in the county.

5. Mater Dei (2) - Monarchs could suffer biggest hit of any team in county. They lose 7 seniors from a team that reached the semifinals. They still have one of the better players in the county in sophomore Justin Agbayani.

6. Woodbridge (7) - Warriors return key singles player in Mikey Zablan, and coach Ric Barth teaches a solid doubles game that keeps the Warriors among the county's top 10.

7. Northwood (5) - Timberwolves lose their top singles players and top doubles team. There is enough talent returning, however, that coach Eric Keith should find a way to keep his team in the top 10.

8. Santa Margarita (9) - Eagles graduate their top singles player, but have two young guns on deck. They should be strong enough to keep the Eagles in the top 10.

9. Valencia (Not ranked) - Tigers will up their nonleague schedule in the spring, and return all but two starters from a team that reached the Division III CIF final.

10. Laguna Beach (Not ranked) - Breakers are in a similar position as the Tigers, having lost the Division IV final but returns plenty of players from that team to contend again.

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All-league boys tennis: South Coast League

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:36:32 +0000

First Team All South Coast League:

Singles:

Warren Hardie (DH) - League Champion

Matthew Ta (CV)

Chris Luc (AN)

Austen Ward (TES)

Doubles:

Jim Myers/Trevor Dell (DH) - League Champions

Kevin Fuhrmann/Chris Bloom (DH)

Mark Saad/Will McKinney (DH)

Dan Le/Andrew Fiene (AN)

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All-league boys tennis: Academy league

All-league boys tennis: Academy league

ocvarsity — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:31:29 +0000

ACADEMY LEAGUE

MVP Singles: Alex Koeberle (Sage Hill)

MVP Doubles: Andrew Kurzweil (Sage Hill) and Alex Manolakas (Sage Hill)

First Team: Joseph Park (Whitney); Troy Astorino (Sage Hill); Alex Koeberle (Sage Hill); Justin Cheng (St. Margaret’s); Michael Schneider (St. Margaret’s); Andrew Kurzweil (Sage Hill); Alex Manolakas (Sage Hill); Jason Lee (Whitney); David Hyun (Whitney); Chris Paiji (Whitney); Adrian Hwang (Whitney); Andrew Yun (Sage Hill)

Second Team: Sean Batten (Sage Hill); Michael Freedman (St. Margaret’s); Alex Ramadan (St. Margaret’s); Daniel An (Whitney); Arek Melkonian (St. Margaret’s); Mitch Marmelstein (St. Margaret’s); Kevin Wang (Sage Hill); Nick Zamiski (Brethren Christian); Greg Berchtold (Sage Hill); Joshua Yu (Whitney); Wesley Lew (Whitney)

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All-League boys tennis: South Coast League

Boys tennis: Top 5 stories of 2009

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:00:08 +0000

Segerstrom's No. 2 singles player Dylan Dongrid hits a forehand during the team's CIF championship victory. Armando Brown/For the Register

The tennis was big time in 2009 around the boys high school scene.

There were plenty of items to remember, and that's exactly what we're out to do.

We've compiled the top moments of the season. Let us know what you think, and ones we missed.

A look back:

1. University's year: The Trojans are the perfect place to start, as they were the county's No. 1 team throughout the season. And what a road traveled. First, the Trojans won their first ever All American tournament, the nation's only national high school tournament. After that, the Trojans boosted their winning streak to an impressive 50 matches by beating Laguna Beach, 14-4, on May 1. The Trojans pushed it to 54 consecutive wins before falling to Thousand Oaks in the CIF-SS Division I final, 10-8. It was the Trojans fourth straight trip to the CIF final.

2. Segerstrom's magical season: The Jaguars did what no Santa Ana school before it did - win a CIF championship in boys tennis. Santa Ana last appeared in a final in 1962. The Jaguars, semifinalists the past two seasons, captured the ultimate prize in the school's fourth year of existence. The school was also the only county team to win a CIF championship in boys tennis this season, as four programs reached and three came up dry.

3. Mater Dei springs upset: Upsets are rare inthe playoffs in team tennis. Rarely do you see a No. 6 seed beating a No. 3 seed, but that's what the Monarchs did to Santa Barbara. They beat the Dons 11-7 in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division I playoffs to advance.

4. Ojai wet and wild: The story, as much as the tennis, was the weather. It was wet, with Thursday's and Friday's action delayed. In the end, two county singles players and two county doubles teams reached the semifinals. Warren Hardie (Dana Hills) and Denis Nguyen (Canyon) made it in singles, while Parker Rhodes/Shane Korber (Corona del Mar) and John Huang/Michael Tang (University) did in doubles.

5. Division II final produces rare situation: It happened between non-county teams Brentwood and San Marino. The teams finished tied at 9-9. Brentwood counted up its games to 75. San Marino also counted its games to 75.

However, the CIF officials added Brentwood’s scores up incorrectly at first, and had San Marino winning the match 75-73. Brentwood was sure about its games count, and the officials recounted and the final count came to 75-75.

The teams headed back to the courts to have the match decided by tiebreakers. They played the 3 singles and 3 doubles rounds again, this time using tiebreakers instead of sets. Brentwood ended up winning the match in the tiebreak period.

CIF-SS 2008-09 Team Champions: Boys Tennis

TODD HARMONSON, OCREGISTER.COM — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:13:26 +0000

CIF TEAM CHAMPIONS: BOYS TENNIS

Div. I - Thousand Oaks

Div. II - Brentwood

Div. III - Claremont

Div. IV - Cerritos

Div. V - Segerstrom

Tobolski: Thoughts on the boys tennis team finals

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:20:34 +0000

Orange 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.

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Boys tennis: Segerstrom saves county from first occurrence since 1998

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:14:57 +0000

Orange County high school tennis fans, say thank you to Segerstrom.

The Jaguars victory in the Division V championship avoided a dubious happening for the county scene.

The last time Orange County didn't have an individual CIF champion or a team CIF champ was in 1998. It also happened in 1995 and in 1984.

It's a rare occurrence that the county gets shut out in postseason glory. It came dangerously close to taking place Wednesday during team finals at the Claremont Club.

Clay Thompson (Crossroads) in singles and Marcos Giron and Denis Lin (Thousand Oaks) in doubles, won individual titles last week. On Wednesday, Thousand Oaks beat University in the final. Then Claremont beat Valencia. Next Laguna Beach fell. It was on Segerstrom's shoulder to bring one title home.

The Jaguars saved us, and the county should be grateful it did.

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Boys tennis: Segerstrom finishes job, takes Division V championship

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:52:31 +0000

The top-seeded Jaguars were the only school to walk away Wednesday with a CIF championship.

Segerstrom defeated Arroyo, 10-8, to capture the CIF-SS Division V championship at the Claremont Club.
It was Santa Ana's first boys tennis title from any high school. Santa Ana was the last city school to reach the championship match in 1962. The Jaguars were semifinalists the past two seasons.

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Boys tennis: Cerritos pummels Laguna Beach for Division IV title

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:28:28 +0000

Top-seeded Cerritos defeated Laguna Beach, 15-3, to take home the Div. IV title.

The Dons were in front 10-2 after two rounds.

Laguna Beach, seeded no. 6, had upset the Nos. 2 and 3 teams to reach the final.

The Breakers swept their singles sets in their semifinal victory over Cate last Tuesday. However, the Breakers grabbed just two singles sets Wednesday.

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Boys tennis: Wildest match between Brentwood-San Marino

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:53:46 +0000

They aren't county schools, but the Division II final between Brentwood and San Marino produced the most intense drama of the day.

The teams finished tied at 9-9. Brentwood counted up its games to 75. San Marino also counted its games to 75.

However, the CIF officials added Brentwood's scores up incorrectly at first, and had San Marino winning the match 75-73. Brentwood was adament about its games count, and the officials recounted and the final count came to 75-75.

Overtime. CIF tennis-style.

The teams headed back to the courts to have the match decided by tiebreakers. They played the 3 singles and 3 doubles rounds again, this time using tiebreakers instead of sets.

Brentwood won the match in the overtime.

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