Calabasas and T.O. battle today for early season advantage

Although there's more than a month until the start of the postseason, today's contest between the boys' tennis teams from Calabasas and Thousand Oaks is sure to have a playoff feel. The match begins at 3 p.m. at CHS.

Meeting for the first time since the Coyotes' dramatic 10-9 victory last season to decide the Marmonte League championship, these two teams know a win could go a long way in determining who will take home that title this year.

"It's huge, that's all there is to it," said CHS head coach Kim Kinberg. "It'd be a definite morale booster at this point in the season. Not only that, but it gives us back that legitimate No. 1 spot."

Today's matchup became critical to Calabasas when it dropped its first league match Tuesday to Moorpark, 10-8, after No. 3 singles player Josh Gartman had to forfeit his final two sets because of a foot injury. The setback landed Calabasas in a first-place tie with Thousand Oaks, which lost its first league match last week to Westlake.

To say it was a tough loss to swallow for the three-time defending league champs is an understatement.

"My team was so bummed out on the bus coming back-they really didn't want to lose to Moorpark, especially with T.O. coming up," Kinberg said.

Gartman injured himself after coming down awkwardly on his foot following a leaping forehand. Despite fighting back tears and making a valiant effort to finish the match, pain eventually forced the gritty freshman to bow out.

"He tried to play another point but he couldn't walk," Kinberg said.

As disappointing as the loss was for the Coyotes, they'll have to find a way bounce back and play their best tennis if they expect to win against T.O., a team that entered the season as the favorite to capture league.

The Lancers feature fantastic freshman Denis Lin, who's been blowing by league competition at No. 1 singles, as well as one of the league's best doubles tandems. In addition, one of the team's most gifted singles players is expected to return from a wrist injury that's kept him out all season.

"They're a much better team with him in the lineup," Kinberg said.

The head coach said she hopes her team's heart-breaking loss to Moorpark will fire them up-not bring them down.

"They were so (upset) at themselves-I think they're going to be pretty pumped up to go out there and beat Thousand Oaks on our home court," Kinberg said.

No matter what the outcome, it won't be too shocking considering what's already taken place in league competition. Though it's the usual suspects-Calabasas, T.O., Westlake and Moorpark- battling it out for the top four spots, there's already been several surprise outcomes and scores of unforeseen circumstances.

Almost at the midway point, only one match separates the top four teams. Calabasas and T.O. each have one loss, while Westlake and Moorpark have two. Agoura is looming just behind them.

"It's been one of the weird seasons where you don't know what's going to happen next," Kinberg said. "Everybody's been beating everybody."

Calabasas' top singles players this season are also the team's only seniors: Ahmad Shirav and Matt Chung.

Shirav, an experienced tournament player who competed at the varsity level for Calabasas in 2003 and 2004, is an interesting case, having returned for his senior season after home-schooling last year.

Kinberg said she had a feeling the talented Shirav might be back in a Coyotes' uniform after she saw him in attendance at a few CHS home matches last year.

"I think he was itching to play and to finish his high school career with the boys," Kinberg said. "I think that had a lot to do with his decision to come back to school."

Beyond Chung and Shirav, the 28-member (varsity and JV) team is extremely young. In addition to Gartman, the team also starts three sophomores.

Two of those sophomores are Darin Rosen and Jeff Rebhun, who together make up the Coyotes' No. 1 doubles team. Thus far, the duo has had great success despite the fact they are competing together for the first time.

"They've been extremely successful," Kinberg said. "They communicate so well. . . . It's like we put them together and they just clicked."

Where the Coyotes have struggled is in No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, an area CHS must improve if it hopes to defeat the Lancers- and keep its tradition of Marmonte League dominance alive.

"It's really going to come down to those players stepping up," Kinberg said, "because we definitely need to get more out of them and take away some of the pressure from our singles players."