EIGHTH ANNUAL NATIONAL BOYS’ TENNIS ALL-AMERICAN TOURNAMENT:Elite tourney begins today

Corona del Mar High boys’ tennis coach Tim Mang has a busy schedule. Starting today, he’ll see two of his jobs converge.

Mang is also the director of the eighth annual National High School Tennis All-American Tournament, which runs today and Saturday at several area tennis clubs.

Corona del Mar (9-1), the tournament’s No. 4 seed and ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division I, plays Crossroads High of Santa Monica, ranked No. 3 in Division III, today at 8 a.m. at the Palisades Tennis Club. Should the Sea Kings win, they’d have a quarterfinal match against either Salpointe of Tucson, Ariz. or The Bulls School of Pontiac, Md., at 2 p.m. at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club.

There are also two teams from South Carolina, another from Arizona and a team from New York in the 16-team field.

“It’s the best tournament in the United States for high school tennis teams,” Mang said. “Some of the first-round matches are just going to be incredible. It’s also like a state championship. We’ve got the best teams from the north, the best from San Diego and the best from the Southern Section.”

Santa Barbara, University and Dana Hills are the top three seeds. Defending champion Torrey Pines of San Diego is also entered.

The Sea Kings are attempting to win the tournament for the first time since 2004, when they won the last of three consecutive All-American titles. Mang called their first-round match against Crossroads a “toss up” in the format of six singles sets and three doubles sets

“If we can win three of the six singles, I know I can go strong in two of the three doubles teams,” Mang said.

This year, there’s also a twist, which Mang helped create as tennis director of the National High School Coaches Association. The tournament winner will travel to Mason, Ohio on April 21, to compete against winners of the newly formed South, Midwest and East regional tournaments.

After all, if college basketball can have a Final Four, why can’t high school boys’ tennis?

“That’s one of the things I told them I would do [as NHSCA tennis director],” Mang said.

The National High School Tennis All-American Tournament semifinals are Saturday at 8 a.m. at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m., at the Palisades Tennis Club.