Calabasas hopes to parlay regularseason success into postseason glory
Tennis squad went undefeated in league play
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

The first round of the CIFSouthern Section boys' tennis playoffs begin today and several local teams feel like they have a shot at winning it all.

In Division I, Calabasas enters the tournament red-hot after winning the Marmonte League title with a 14-0 record, 19-1 overall. The Coyotes will host Palos Verdes, the Bay League's No. 3 seed, at 3 p.m.

"Palos Verdes is going to be a tough team to beat," Calabasas head coach Cleo Harper said.

"They're all tough at this point of the season. As long as we play as well as we're capable of, we should be okay. We can't worry about other teams because we have no control of how they play."

Leading the Coyotes will be No. 1 singles player Josh Gartman and the No. 1 doubles team of seniors Jeff Rebhun and Darin Rosen, who've been competing together for three years.

"The thing about our team is that we're very balanced in both our singles and doubles," Harper said. "If we match up with a team that has good singles players, then they also better have a good doubles team if they want to beat us."

While Harper isn't taking anything for granted, Thousand Oaks head coach Dave Assorson is very confident regarding his squad's chances. The Lancers will host Loyola, the Mission League's No. 2 seed, in the first round.

"The way I see it, if it's at our home court and (Loyola) isn't ranked in the top 10, then we should win," Assorson said. "I'm sure Loyola is a good team, but if we can't win in the first round in those situations, then we don't deserve anything else."

One of the reasons why the Lancer coach is optimistic is because for the first time in a while, he'll have a full squad that includes junior Kyle McMorrow and freshman Marcus Giron. McMorrow and teammate Denis Lin are nationally ranked players.

Westlake will open on the road against Northwood, the No. 1 seed from the Sea View League.

Newbury Park plays at Peninsula, the Bay League's No. 1 seed.

In the Division III bracket, Oaks Christian, the Tri-Valley League champion, will play either Pacifica of Garden Grove or Lancaster, both of whom are wild-card qualifiers.

On Tuesday, Oak Park defeated South Torrance 11-7 in the wild-card round. The Eagles will play at Riverside Poly today.

Viewpoint, the Liberty League's No. 1 seed, will face St. Margaret's in the first round of the Division IV playoffs.