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CdM seeking a repeat of national honors

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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