Out of nowhere

Bruce Beutler got his first glimpse of what the future potentially could hold for the 2008 edition of his Marina High boys’ tennis team during a simple camp last summer.

It was during that camp where visions of the coming season began to come into focus for Beutler and the Vikings, who returned several solid players from a team that finished in third place in the Sunset League last year.

But not even that summer camp could come close to what the future actually did hold.

Fast forward eight months to today when, at 2 p.m., Marina will begin the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. The Vikings will host San Clemente at 2:30 p.m. at SeaCliff Country Club.

And they’ll do so as champions of the Sunset League.

Marina won what Beutler said was the school’s first league title in the sport in “at least 12 years” by going 8-2.

Along the way, they finished ahead of a Los Alamitos team that for the past five years has been a strong contender for the Sunset title. The Griffins this year shared second place with Newport Harbor, another strong team which, along with Los Al, finished 7-3 in league.

“To win this league is a great accomplishment,” Beutler said. “It’s an incredibly tough league, and to win the title this year is just so great for these kids.”

Entering his sixth year as head coach, Beutler had returners — among them, seniors Deondre Moss, Garrett Shinn, Shant Aharonian and Robert Nguyen, and junior Tyler Lekas, players who he said have been with the program since their freshman year — back from last year’s squad. That group, which Beutler said consisted of “fine young men and top student-athletes,” formed a veteran nucleus that did an outstanding job again this year. But it was during camp this summer that Beutler took notice of an influx of freshmen who, he said, could make an “immediate impact” to go along with the veterans.

“We didn’t know what we were going to have as a team this year until that summer camp,” said Beutler, with the “we” being Beutler and fifth-year assistant coach Cam Jones. “There were some freshmen at that camp who we were immediately impressed with and knew that could have an impact on this team. And they did.”

Beutler said that a combination of veterans, four freshmen, a transfer student from Germany and the standout play of Moss, catapulted Marina to an 18-2 overall record — the program’s best in what Beutler said was a “long, long time.”

The Vikings went 10-0 in nonleague play. Their losses in league were to Los Alamitos and Newport Harbor, teams they earned a season split with.

Last week at Seal Beach Country Club, Moss, who plays at No. 1 singles, teamed with junior Dominik Schubert, the transfer student from Germany, to finish second in doubles play at league finals.

The duo will be a Sunset League representative at next week’s CIF Southern Section doubles tournament.

“Deondre and Dominik did an outstanding job,” Beutler said. “They both are great singles players but also were very successful in doubles play.

“Moss and Schubert brought experience to the team, the four freshmen brought great skills and the returning players improved greatly.”

The freshmen who infused more talent into the program were Parker Glore, Kevin Young, Daniel Cancilla and Roy Nielsen.

Also contributing to Marina’s success throughout the season were seniors Andy Pham, John Sakakura and Minh Tran, juniors Vincent Bui and Brian Stockman and sophomore B.K Fernandez.

Moss was outstanding during the regular season, posting a 42-2 record in singles play while going 18-0 in doubles with various partners.

Schubert, meanwhile, is 47-2 in singles play and 6-0 in doubles. Glore’s records, 22-2 in singles and 22-6 in doubles, also are impressive.

“The joy of this entire season has been watching this team get better each week, watching the kids get excited about their success and how they’ve thrived on it,” Beutler said. “It’s been a pleasure to coach this team and the parents have been great in coming out to watch and support these kids.

“This is a talented group and my assistant coach, Cam Jones, has done just an outstanding job. He’s had a big influence on this team.”

Marina takes its next step in its memorable season today against San Clemente, a team the Vikings defeated in nonleague play earlier this year.

“We have a special team the year,” Deondre Moss said. “I mean, it seemed like out of nowhere comes these freshmen players and a transfer student from Germany (Schubert) who is our best player. They’ve all helped make us a better team.

“We’re pretty pumped about CIF, although a bit nervous because we’ve never been to the playoffs before.”

The playoffs continue Saturday and a win today could send Marina into a potential second-round match-up with Santa Barbara, the division’s No. 2-seed.

“We’re just really excited about the playoffs,” Beutler added. “It’s been a great year, and we’re ready to see what’s next for this team.

“To be successful in the playoffs, I think everybody’s going to have to play their best game, be motivated and focused. I’m looking forward to seeing what this team can do.”

Much like the way he had envisioned during that camp last summer.

MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (714) 966-4611 or by e-mail at [email protected].