CdM seeking a repeat of national honors
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Bryce Alderton
Tournament Director Tim Mang doesn’t skimp when it comes to
scheduling teams to compete in the Corona del Mar High National High
School Tennis All-American Boys Invitational Team Tournament.
Now in its fourth year, the CdM boys coach has again slated a
field of prominence, with flavor coming from Hawaii and New York this
year to go with perennial schools like Menlo, from Atherton. CdM beat
Menlo last season, 5-4, rallying to win after trailing, 4-3. The Sea
Kings (seeded third in this tournament just as last year) were second
in 2001 and fourth in 2000.
This year’s field features top-seeded Miramonte of Orinda, which
Mang said includes three nationally-ranked singles players in Chris
Rasmussen (No. 48 in the United States Tennis Association
18-year-olds), Michael Ricks (No. 70 in the USTA 18s) and Drew
Diefenbach (No. 177 in the USTA 18s).
Punahou School -- from Honolulu -- is seeded second, and has the
most depth of any team in the field of 16, according to Mang.
Robbie Lim, the Hawaii singles champion, along with Ryan Lewis,
the No. 3 player in the Hawaiian Pacific Tennis Association’s 18s
division, headline the lineup. Chris Iwamura (ranked No. 1 in the
HPTA 16s) along with Jon Farm (No. 2 in the HPTA’s 16s) join Mike Lim
and Will Grosswendt as ranked players in the HPTA.
“They key will be how much stronger is the (Southern California
Tennis Association) than the HPTA?” Mang said.
Mang’s top two singles players in senior Garrett Snyder (bound for
the University of Texas) and sophomore Carsten Ball, are no slouches
when it comes to rankings either. Snyder is currently ranked No. 34
in the SCTA’s 18s, and Ball is 11th in 16s.
CdM (6-0) also features sophomore Spencer Reitz at singles and the
doubles teams of Bryan Warsaw-Brennan Roberts, Issei Saida-Nicholas
Gingold and Sean Pham-Alex Nguyen.
The tournament format includes six singles and three doubles sets,
for a possible nine points in each match. Players compete in
eight-game professional sets and can play both singles and doubles.
Troy High of Fullerton is seeded fourth and the draw also includes
Brentwood, which beat CdM for the CIF Southern Section Division V
title last spring, 10-8. But the Sea Kings, now in Division I with
Brentwood, exacted revenge in the opener this season with a 16-2
drubbing. Harvard-Westlake, also in Division I, is in the field of
16.
The Sea Kings begin against La Jolla Country Day Friday at the
Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club at 10:30 a.m. and, if victorious, again
at 1:30 p.m. The semifinals are at 1 p.m. Saturday at Balboa Bay Club
Racquet Club, and the championship will be at 5 p.m. at the Palisades
Tennis Club.
“We’ve got a shot at,” Mang said. “Last year was incredible to win
it. It was a super effort by my team to win.”
Carsten Ball (Cameron’s older brother) and Tyson Hunter, who both
graduated after last season, each won crucial matches in the final
against Menlo a year ago. Mang said a similar scenario must happen
for CdM to claim its second consecutive title.
“My top guys have to win,” Mang said.
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