National prep tennis invitational set

CORONA DEL MAR - Nine of a 16-team field have been confirmed for

the Corona del Mar National High School Tennis All-American Invitational

Tournament, which take place March 16, 17 and 18 at five sites, covering

50 courts, according to tournament director and CdM High boys tennis

coach Tim Mang.

Palisades Tennis Club will host the championship final on March 18, as

well as Opening Ceremonies, and the March 16 Celebrities Tournament,

which, among others, will feature Phil and Taylor Dent.

Sites for the tournament include the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club,

Newport Beach Tennis Club, Corona del Mar High, Costa Mesa Tennis Club

and Palisades.

Two items prompted the longtime successful Mang to formulate such a

tournament - the relatively poor situation his Sea Kings endured in an

out-of-state tournament last spring with a national cast, and the lack of

an All-American status for high school tennis players since 1993.

All of the entries are listed in the Top 25 nationally.

Confirmed entries at this point are perennial Southland power Peninsula

High of Palisades; Centennial of Bakersfield, the defending CIF champion

from its section; EC Glass High of Virginia; Green Valley of Henderson,

the Nevada state champion; North Medford High, a state finalist in Oregon

last spring; Michael Kropp High of Pembroke Pine, Fla.(near Miami); John

Burroughs High of St. Louis; and Cherry Creek High of Englewood, Colo.,

which may very well have the longest winning streak of any sports team in

creation.

Cherry Creek High has been undefeated for the last 28 years, according to

Mang.

“There are problems with many of the schools we’d like to invite,” said

Mang, “because of their state regulations, which ban travel beyond 450 or

500 miles.”

That eliminates schools who hail from such areas as Indiana, Illinois and

Michigan, among others.

Mang said the athletes will most likely be staying at area hotels,

although he has hopes of affording some with stayovers at local

residences.

Meanwhile, work continues on filling out the 16-team bracket, which

will afford each team four matches over the two-day format.