Tennis: Peninsula wraps up title -- untouched

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - As soon as Peninsula High had the team championship

wrapped up Saturday night, Panthers boys tennis coach Tom Cox couldn’t

help but start thinking about his girls in October.

They, too, will play in the national invitational hosted by Corona del

Mar.

In the inaugural CdM/Pavilions National High School Boys Team

Invitational, Peninsula turned it into an exhibition at the Palisades

Tennis Club, whipping Menlo in the finals, 7-1, after winning five of six

singles sets to clinch the match and make doubles a moot point.

“It’s a great tournament -- and it’s great to win it,” said Cox, whose

team advanced with a 7-2 victory over Harvard-Westlake in the semifinals,

while the host Sea Kings were bumped off by Menlo in the other semifinal.

“I’m sure it’s disappointing for Corona del Mar not to make the finals.

It’ll be fun to play the girls national invitational (Oct. 5-7 at the

Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club). We’ll be competitive.”

Peninsula’s girls are the defending national champions, according to the

USA Today, and the Panthers’ boys might have staked claim to the 2000

national title with their convincing wins at the Pavilions National.

No. 1-seeded Peninsula, which will host CdM Coach Tim Mang’s boys on

April 5 at the Jack Kramer Club in Palos Verdes, never got its shot at

CdM in the tournament.

“Yeah, it would’ve been more fun (playing No. 2-seeded CdM in the

finals),” Cox said. “We’re used to playing some great matches against

each other.”

The third doubles set was not played in the final because matters were

already decided and some players didn’t mind the rest. “The two doubles

sets were like an exhibition,” Cox said.

Players from other teams in the tournament, watching in small groups,

rooted hard and cheered loudly for Menlo in doubles exhibition against

champion Peninsula, a poignant moment late Saturday as it represented a

sense of bonding between out-of-state and California schools.

“What we liked was the competition,” said E.C. Glass Coach Bill Tyson,

whose team finished in sixth place.

After host CdM was dropped out of championship contention in the

semifinals, it lost to Harvard-Westlake in the match for third place,

6-3.

“In singles, we had more depth (than CdM),” said Wolverines Coach Keith

Huyssoon, whose team has petitioned the Southern Section this year to

play up in Division I with Peninsula and CdM.

The Wolverines topped Brentwood earlier, 5-4, or one set less than their

win over the Sea Kings. “Brentwood’s a very deep team, maybe a little

deeper than Corona del Mar,” Huyssoon said. “(The Eagles) are also strong

in doubles. I think that they would have the edge over Corona del Mar (if

the teams played). But that match hasn’t been played.”

Harvard-Westlake jumped out to a 4-2 lead in singles against CdM, then

won twice in doubles.