High school boys tennis: CdM remains a contender

Amara Aguilar

Not one, not two, but seven seniors are gone from last year’s

Corona del Mar High boys tennis team that went 23-0 and won the CIF

Southern Section Division V championship.

No matter. The players who remain, as well as a few newcomers, could

help the Sea Kings rule their division once again.

“Our top two players have all kinds of experience,” CdM Coach Tim Mang

said. “They know how to win.”

Senior Cameron Ball and junior Garrett Snyder, the Sea Kings’ co-most

valuable players last year, return to pick up some of the slack left by

the departure of a handful of players including Brian Morton, now a

freshman on UC Irvine’s tennis team.

Last year, Morton teamed with Snyder to win the CIF doubles

championship.

In addition, the Sea Kings have another Ball bouncing around on their

roster, Cameron Ball’s younger brother, Carsten.

“We are a little weaker than last year, but our kids have worked hard

all summer,” Mang said. “We are not quite as strong at the first doubles

and, because Morton left, in third singles. Carsten has got some big

shoes to fill, but, overall, we are just about the same.”

Cameron Ball, Snyder and Carsten Ball will look to provide power to

CdM’s singles lineup, but who will hold the Sea Kings’ No. 1 position?

Only Mang knows for sure.

“It’s a tossup right now really,” Mang said. “It will be back and

forth. (Cameron Ball and Snyder) will probably share it.”

Carsten Ball, a freshman who is one of the brightest prospects for the

Sea Kings, will take the No. 3 spot.

“He is very highly ranked in nationals,” Mang said. “He is a lefty. We

expect big things out of him. He is one of the top players in Southern

California.”

Another newcomer, senior transfer Tyson Hunter from Arizona, will also

add depth to the Sea Kings’ roster. He will most likely team up with

freshman Wesley Miller at No. 1 doubles. Hunter is a lefty with a big

serve, Mang said.

Filling the No. 2 doubles spot will be juniors Bryan Warsaw and Issei

Saida. The twosome played No. 3 doubles last year.

The No. 3 team this season will feature senior Erik Frisbie and

sophomore Brennan Roberts. Frisbie was the MVP on CdM’s junior varsity

squad last year.

CdM has an 11 a.m. scrimmage Friday against Palm Desert at Indian

Wells, then kicks off the season by hosting Dana Hills Monday at 3 p.m.

in a nonleague match. The Sea Kings’ nonleague schedule includes battles

with Peninsula, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Los Alamitos and Woodbridge.

One of the team’s toughest tests will be against league rival University,

which won the Division II championship last year.

“I think we’re going to be very good,” Mang said. “It’s going to come

down to the two best teams in the state that are in the same league --

University and CdM.”

Corona del Mar boys tennis team

Cameron Ball Sr.

Garrett Snyder Jr.

Carsten Ball Fr.

Tyson Hunter Sr.

Wesley Miller Fr.

Brennan Roberts So.

Issei Saida Jr.

Bryan Warsaw Jr.

Erik Frisbie Sr.

Dan Gushue Jr.

Nicholas Gingold Fr.

Sean Pham Fr.

Coach: Tim Mang