Coyotes close in on another tennis title

Officially, there are eight high school girls' tennis teams competing in the Marmonte League. But realistically, it's Calabasas High and everyone else.

The Coyotes, who haven't lost a league match since 2002, are once again the cream of the crop with a 9-0 record in league and a 11-2 record overall. CHS owns the No. 7 spot in the CIFSouthern Section Division I rankings.

"Westlake was the best team in the league a couple years back, but at least there were some teams that were close," Thousand Oaks head coach Dave Assorson said. "Not with Calabasas. They seem to be in a league by themselves for both their boys' and girls' teams. Everyone else is trying to get second place, or make the playoffs."

This year CHS is once again led by its No. 1 singles player, Brittney Harper. Harper finished in second place in the league's singles championship last season after winning the title in 2005.

The Coyotes have a lot of talent on their roster, making it tough for head coach Kim Kinberg to decide who plays and whether they play doubles or singles.

"It's been easier to decide who plays where since about the third week of the season," Kinberg said. "We now have Florence Hernandez playing singles and Valerie Chang playing doubles with Sabrina Gutierrez. Valerie has a lot of height and good volleying skills, and that has helped her and Sabrina become one of our best doubles teams."

Other players who have contributed to the Coyotes this year include Harper's sister, Tiffany, Dani Stern, Afton Ashforth and Emily Weisberg.

While Calabasas is in first, second-place Simi Valley is hardly a pushover with a 13-2 overall record. Simi Valley head coach Rob Wickwire said that if the team duplicates its first half of the '07 campaign, anything is possible.

"They (Calabasas) are a very good team and it's definitely going to be a tough mountain to climb," Wickwire said. "If we just do what we did in the first half, then we will end up playing Calabasas in the last match of the year. If that happens, I'm sure we will be confident going into that match."

The Pioneers are led by the No. 1 doubles team of seniors Karissa Peterson and Sarah Ko. Peterson and Ko have posted a record of 393 this season, with all three losses coming to Calabasas.

Tied for second place with Simi Valley is Westlake High. The Warriors are 72 in league and 96 overall thanks to great singles play by juniors Lauren Schwartz and Rachel Bitter.

According to Warrior head coach Connie Flanderka, No. 3 singles player Christy Needels, a junior, has played well. The top doubles team is led by Daniela Koss and Mikayla Miletich.

In fourth place, with a record of 5-4 in league, is Thousand Oaks High. The Lancers are led by their top two singles players, sophomore Tara Erb and junior Hilary Koenig. The No. 1 doubles team consists of senior Casey Padginton and junior Hussai Nuristani.

"If we can beat all the teams that we beat the first time through the schedule, then we would make the playoffs," Assorson said. "In order for us to go anywhere in the postseason, the doubles play would probably have to pick up its play a little bit."

Royal is currently on the outside looking in with a fifth-place record of 2-4 in league play as of Oct. 11. The Highlanders can help themselves if they do well against Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Westlake in the final weeks.

Moorpark High is tied for sixth place with Agoura High. The Musketeers feature one of the league's finest singles players, senior Kim Kolibas.

Moorpark got a tough blow earlier in the season when head coach Sandy Jacobs was forced to leave the team to help her daughter, Heather, recover from injuries suffered in a car crash.

Although Kolibas is a top singles player in the league, the Marmonte's best may be Newbury Park High's Taylor French.

Despite being on a team that is rebuilding after the loss of 10 seniors to graduation, the defending league singles champion continues to impress for the Panthers. Kinberg believes that French and Brittney Harper will represent their schools at the league championships.

"You could probably put those two in the championship game right now," Kinberg said. "They have been in the championship the last two years, so I'm sure they will be there battling again."