Tennis: Launching pad

Richard Dunn

In the heart of Tennis Town USA, even the novice players are

getting a piece of the action.

While much hype surrounds the area’s open junior players and top high

school teams, there’s a grass-roots movement headed by Newport Beach

Tennis Club teaching pro Dave Sherbeck.

Not everyone hears about the Penn League because it’s geared for

beginners, but, hey, they’ve got to start somewhere.

Of the three tiers of competition for juniors, it all starts with the

Penn League. From there, players can graduate to the satellite division,

then to open play.

“The Penn League is a steppingstone,” said Sherbeck, who launched the

Southern California Tennis Association-sponsored Penn League at NBTC six

years ago, and has enjoyed a “banner season” with the 12- and

15-and-under boys teams.

In the fall season that runs from October through December, NBTC

captured divisional titles on both levels and will play in the Penn

League regional finals Feb. 12-13 at UCLA.

If it’s considered a “developmental league,” then Sherbeck certainly

has his boys developing a winning approach.

The NBTC 12-and-under squad went 10-0 in the regular season, playing

clubs from throughout north and central Orange County in a 12-team

division, including Sunny Hills Racquet Club, Tustin Hills, Heritage Park

in Irvine and the North Orange County Tennis Association.

The top two teams in each of the eight divisions in Southern

California advance to the regional finals.

“It’s been pretty rewarding to have two teams winning it,” Sherbeck

said. “It’s extraordinary to have one (champion), but two ...”

Even to maintain a program every year isn’t easy. Sherbeck not only

fights other clubs and Penn League programs, but he struggles against

sports. “It’s a constant battle, but I think I’m winning it,” he said.

“Most of the kids are such good athletes in other sports, you put them

in tennis and, bang, they pick it up. But a lot of kids don’t even think

about (playing competitive junior tennis) unless one of their buddies is

doing it. Tennis often plays second or third fiddle to soccer and

baseball and football.”

The Newport Beach 12-and-under unit consists of singles players Parker

Rhodes, John Leonard and Kyle Schneekluth, and the doubles team of Cole

Pavlovich and Connor Whalen.

The 15-and-under squad has singles players Bo Weidner, Pat Ahearn and

Alex Jorion, and the doubles team of William Cole and Andrew Hinger, all

of whom made Sherbeck proud this year by making the Corona del Mar High

junior varsity team.

While Palisades Tennis Club member Lindsay Davenport created some

hometown exhilaration last week by beating Martina Hingis in the

Australian Open women’s final for her third Grand Slam title, another

Palisades member, Rick Leach, went on to win the men’s doubles

championship down under, and moments later was added to the U.S. Davis

Cup team, which faces Zimbabwe this weekend on the road.

Leach last played Davis Cup when the Palisades Club hosted the world

quarterfinal tie in April 1997 against the Netherlands.

Leach will play doubles with Alex O’Brien today (2 p.m. Harare,

Zimbabwe time) against Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett, the match (or

“rubber” in Davis Cup terms) that could make the difference following

Friday’s split in singles.

At the Australian Open, Leach teamed with Ellis Ferreira of South

Africa to win the men’s doubles title over, ironically, Black and Andrew

Kratzmann.

Palisades owner/operator Ken Stuart said over 100 members were on hand

Jan. 28 to watch Davenport crush Hingis in the Aussie Open final. The

large gathering “caught us off guard,” Stuart said, who had eight pizzas

delivered to the club as members “cheered like crazy.”

Must have been quite an evening.

“Two world champions from one tennis club ... not bad for a small

beach town on the coast of California,” Stuart said.

Newport Beach’s Brandis Braverman, 19, was named this week to the 2000

USA Tennis Player Development Team, a collection of rookie and

second-year pros supported by the United States Tennis Association, which

supplies $10,000 grants to each player for annual travel expenses.

Braverman, formerly the USTA’s No. 1-ranked girl in the nation in the

18s, underwent successful arthroscopic right knee surgery Dec. 1 to

remove scar tissue, which had been irritating her for about 2 1/2 years.

“I’m expecting a big year ... I’m 100% healthy and I feel really

fresh,” said Braverman, who was out six weeks because of her knee and is

hopeful of wild card berths at upcoming WTA Tour stops in Oklahoma City,

the week of Feb. 21, and Indian Wells, March 6.

The Palisades Club is the host site of the inaugural Pavilions

National High School All-American Team Invitational March 16-18.

But it’s a group effort in terms of courts donated from five

Newport-Mesa clubs.

The Palisades Club, Newport Beach Tennis Club, Costa Mesa Tennis

Center, Park Newport and Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club are all donating

courts for competition March 17-18 (opening ceremonies are March 16).

“Not many areas are willing to do something great like this by

donating all these courts, and we really appreciate the clubs and its

members for doing it,” said Tim Mang, Corona del Mar High boys tennis

coach and executive director of the national invitational.

Mang has attracted some of the best tennis programs in the United

States and established what will be the most official national

championship anywhere.

Proceeds of the tournament go toward recognizing high school tennis

All-Americans via the National High School Tennis All-American

Foundation.

Tickets are available through ETM at Vons and Pavilions stores. Call

(888) ETM-TIXS or purchase tickets online at www.etm.com.