PLAYOFF PROFILES : Gross Fulfills Her Destiny

Growing up near the Calabasas Tennis Club, Kirsten Gross always knew she would be a tennis player.

“We would drive by [the club] and I would always tell my mom that I wanted to play that sport,” Gross said.

And so she does. Very well.

Gross, a Calabasas High senior, has a 39-2 record this season, helping the team to a 17-2 mark. The Coyotes have advanced to the Southern Section Division II semifinals and play host to Villa Park today.

Gross is ranked 32nd by the Southern California Tennis Assn. in the 18-and-under age bracket.

Players so highly ranked by the SCTA are rare in high school tennis because many of them feel that the competition isn’t strong enough--a trap that almost caught Gross.

“I didn’t play last year because I had a stressful academic load,” she said. “I also wanted to put more time in to junior-circuit tennis.”

But as she sat in class listening to the tennis team scores announced over the loudspeaker, she yearned to be back with the team. She rejoined at the beginning of this season.

“I really missed it,” she said. “I have some really good friends on the team and we have so much fun.”

One of those friends is Shera Wiegler, a senior who is ranked 31st by the SCTA. Debra Pepkowitz, a junior, is ranked 44th--completing the region’s strongest singles trio.

Gross and Wiegler have teamed to play doubles in the Southern Section individual tournament. As freshmen, they advanced to the semifinals. This year, they plan to go one step farther.

“We want to win it,” Gross said.