Tennis: Arizona ahead of Southern California in helping with

schedule conflicts

Richard Dunn

For top junior tennis players in Southern California, scheduling

conflicts become a way of life.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, according to the Corona del Mar

and Peninsula high school coaches.

If anyone understands the struggle of players juggling the CIF

Southern Section circuit and the United States Tennis Association

designated tournament schedule, it’s CdM Coach Tim Mang and Peninsula

Coach Tom Cox, both of whom feature nationally ranked boys every spring

and girls every fall.

At least one player, Peninsula sophomore Shane LaPorte, will be

unavailable today for the semifinals, and possibly the finals, in the CdM

National High School Boys Tennis All-American Team Invitational, because

of competition in the Long Beach Tournament this weekend, a national

qualifying event on the USTA circuit.

A familiar story of clashes between high school tennis and the USTA

schedule in Southern California has reared its ugly head once again.

With the prestigious Easter Bowl coming up, Mang, the tournament

director, didn’t dare change the date of this year’s national

invitational.

And, considering it’s a year-round project for Mang, and with teams

coming from out of state, it’s no wonder the tournament date must be

locked in ahead of time.

Point is, top high school tennis players drop out like flies, mainly

because it conflicts with their individual schedule. They often quit

playing high school tennis all together.

Mang, an ardent devotee of high school tennis, started the CdM

national tournament, among other reasons, for the sake of generating

positive attention to high school tennis.

But it’s a shame the folks at the CIF Southern Section do not work

closer with the Southern California Tennis Association, which governs the

USTA events.

“With our girls, year after year we have players miss the CIF team

finals, because of the (USTA) national tournament (at the same time),”

Cox said Friday. “One year, it cost San Marino a CIF championship,

because it was missing its best player. Luckily, it has never caused us

to lose (a championship).”

With the top-seeded Panthers’ No. 4 player out of the lineup today,

Mang said that “really hurts Peninsula.” But he wishes it wouldn’t

happen.

“The Southern California Tennis Association is going to have to sit

down with CIF and work on the schedule that’s going on, so they can help

out the junior programs and high schools,” Mang said.

The Sea Kings’ quarterfinal opponent Friday, Brophy College Prep of

Phoenix, Ariz., experiences no scheduling conflicts with USTA and Arizona

high school matches.

“For most of (the top players), high school tennis is a little more

relaxed,” Brophy Coach Bill Woods said. “And they do that in Arizona,

they help with the schedule. Arizona High School Tennis gets ahold of the

USTA calendar and sets up (the high school schedule), so the top kids

don’t have to compromise what they’re trying to do (individually) for

high school tennis.”

Southern California might have more top junior tennis players, but

Arizona is certainly ahead of us in administrative scheduling.

In a change from last year, the championship finals of the CdM

national tournament today at 5 p.m. at the Palisades Tennis Club will

start with three doubles and conclude with six singles in the eight-game

pro set format.

Last year, Peninsula defeated Menlo in singles, 5-1, to secure the title without even having to step on the court for doubles. “We put our

exhibition doubles teams out there,” Cox said. “We didn’t even play three

doubles matches ... nobody really wanted to play, because it was over

after singles. (Menlo) played a couple of reserves. But I didn’t have any

reserves.”

Mang said the format change will make the finals more exciting.

Corona del Mar senior Peter Kulmaticki, who won the Pacific Coast

League doubles championship last year with teammate Michael Bean, was

mildly disappointed Friday about playing No. 6 for the Sea Kings.

But, while it raised a few eyebrows, Kulmaticki accepted it in the

best way possible.

“I like the No. 6 spot,” Kulmaticki said. “No one’s down there.”

In the first round against Horace Mann, Kulmaticki won his singles

set, 8-1, then won in the quarterfinals against Brophy, 8-0.