Peninsula Is Enjoying Net Gains : High schools: Consolidation of Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Miraleste has helped create a tower of power among girls’ tennis teams.

The tennis courts at Peninsula High seem to be on top of Los Angeles. Almost the entire L.A. basin is visible from the school, and the tops of the buildings in downtown peek through the smog.

The setting in Rolling Hills Estates is appropriate, for the Peninsula girls’ tennis team is also towering over Los Angeles.

The squad is ranked No. 1 in the CIF-Southern Section 4-A Division and opened the season with a 17-1 victory over Corona del Mar, then ranked No. 2. The Panthers improved their match record to 8-0 Tuesday with an 18-0 victory over Santa Monica, giving them a cumulative score of 137-7 against the opposition this season.

To say that Peninsula is the favorite to win the 4-A title would be an understatement of epic proportion. The Panthers are as close to a sure thing as you can have in sports.

“They’re probably a very good college-level team,” Capistrano Valley Coach Kerry Leander said. “This team is No. 1 in the state. And in the country, who knows?”

Capistrano Valley, ranked No. 2 in the 4-A Division, fell to Peninsula, 15-3, earlier this season.

“They’re the strongest girls’ team I’ve seen,” Corona del Mar Coach Gary Salazar said. “They’re comparable to the Santa Barbara (High) boys’ team.”

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Peninsula team is that it consists of 18 players, and so far the top nine have yet to play in the same match.

“Our B team would probably be ranked No. 4 (in CIF),” co-coach Jim Hanson said.

Peninsula High is the result of the consolidation of Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Miraleste, all of which traditionally fielded strong tennis teams. Palos Verdes won the Southern Section 4-A title last year.

“There have been some strong teams on the hill in the past,” co-coach Tom Cox said. “I was kind of surprised (the merger) came this soon. They had talked about it for years, so my attitude was always, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ ”

As could be expected, the merger was not welcomed by opposing schools.

“We heard for so long about the attempts (to merge), we were waiting for that shoe to drop,” Leander said. “The good thing is we just have that one team to focus on. Everybody else is playing for second place.”

Opponents respect Peninsula for its depth and talent, but they criticized the Panthers for flaunting their superiority.

“Their kids were pretty cocky,” Salazar said. “That’s one sore spot a few teams have had against them. It would have been better if they were a little more sportsmanlike and humble.”

The formation of a new school evoked mixed reactions from the Peninsula players, from sadness at seeing their old schools close to concerns about overcrowding. But the general consensus among the tennis players was pride in their strength and excitement about having former rivals as teammates.

“I hardly ever see anyone I know because there are so many people here now,” said Cindy Siu, a senior from Rolling Hills. “Everyone’s adapting to it--we’re a big family now.”

“Miraleste was like a family, you knew everyone there,” Stephanie Lorman said. “Now you are lucky to pass someone you know in the halls.”

“I was really sad and surprised and kind of disappointed. With this being my last year I wanted to graduate at (Miraleste),” Darcie Sepko said. “I don’t really like it, I feel intimidated by all the people and I’m not confident with such a crowd, but we feel like we’re all in this together.”

One of the problems that came with increased enrollment was dealing with an overabundance of varsity tennis players and choosing among three accomplished coaches from last year.

Cox, from Rolling Hills, and Hanson, from Miraleste, were chosen to coach the varsity team. Former Palos Verdes Coach Kathy Ross runs an intramural program for freshmen and sophomores.

As for the varsity, Cox and Hanson have split the squad into two groups and have let all 18 team members play in the seven matches so far.

“We’ve tried to get everyone involved and get them together,” Cox said. “A lot of them knew each other and they have really adjusted.”

There are several nationally ranked players at Peninsula. Sophomore Nicole London, the top singles player, was ranked No. 1 in Southern California last year and is in the top 20 nationally in the United States Tennis Assn. rankings for 16-18 year olds. London, who has played in only three matches for Peninsula, was a Southern Section 4-A singles semifinalist as a freshman at Palos Verdes.

No. 2 singles player Janet Lee was rated No. 1 in the 14-and-under category last year. Also nationally ranked were Amanda Augustus and Amber Basica. Lee, with partner Sandy Sureephong of Florida, defeated the Peninsula doubles team of Stephanie Lansdorf and Basica in the national 16-and-under tournament last summer in San Diego. Basica and Lansdorf won the Southern Section 4-A doubles title last year at Rolling Hills.

With that much talent at one school, some of the challenge is gone for the coaches, but keeping the team focused is the primary concern.

“Being so powerful takes some of the coaching strategy away,” Hanson said. “You always want to win but you also want to be pushed to your maximum. The teams we are playing are going to get better.”

The players from Palos Verdes know that well. After routing most teams last year, the Sea Kings were tied, 9-9, by Corona Del Mar in the 4-A final and won on total games.

At the northern end of the campus just outside the administrative offices there is a small tile sign that says, “Palos Verdes Peninsula High School--’Project New Beginning’, California Distinguished High Schools--Miraleste, Palos Verdes, and Rolling Hills.”

That is the only reminder that there is one school where there once were three. But as junior Michelle Dojiri pointed out, this Peninsula team may go down in history.