Oiler tennis fortunes on the upswing

Mike Sciacca, Independent

There was a time -- from the mid-1990s to the close of the century,

to be exact, that when you saw the name “Huntington Beach High” on your

Sunset League boys tennis schedule, league teams could almost certainly

chalk that match up in the “win” column even before the first serve.

My, how times have changed.

There’s a new head coach and a new attitude permeating the Oiler program

in 2000, and the Huntington Beach boys tennis team’s turnaround has been

nothing short of spectacular. Winning is becoming a habit rather quickly,

and no longer are the Oilers the league’s doormat.

For the previous six years, six long, drawn-out seasons, Huntington Beach

went without a Sunset victory. But under the guidance of first-year head

coach Chris Ganz, the Oilers have opened league play with three

consecutive victories heading into this week’s matches with Sunset foes

Los Alamitos and Edison.

What’s more, Huntington Beach is 9-1 overall, winning its first five

matches before falling to Irvine in the sixth match of its schedule.

While Huntington’s boys tennis fortunes have been resurrected, Ganz says

that the program is far from where it wants to be. But, he says, this is

a strong starting point.

“I think our success this year stems from the combination of having a

coach that the guys look up to and respect, and a coach who treats his

players as a team,” Ganz said. “I’m teaching the boys how to play serious

tennis, and they’re enjoying it.”

The Oilers, made up of a nine-man roster consisting of four seniors,

appear to be in good hands with Ganz, himself a former Oiler who has

taught tennis at Lindborg Racquet Club in Huntington Beach for the past

five years.

In Huntington Beach High’s illustrious history that spans nearly a

decade, the Oilers have won just three league championships, the first

coming in 1936. The other two were won in 1982 and 1984, and Ganz, a 1985

graduate of the school, was a member of latter two teams.

“If we want to join those (championship teams), we’ll need to work very

hard,” he added. “We have some tough matches coming up, but the kids are

enjoying the season so far. They’re listening to what I’m teaching them,

and carrying what they’ve learned out on the court. That’s a great thing

to see.”