DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL MALE ATHLETES OF THE WEEK:Hladek, Matthews have plenty to grin about

Dustin Hladek and Fabian Matthews are almost always in a good mood.

But, for the Corona del Mar High tennis players, the most recent three-set win over Billy Grokenberger and Chris Ho of Santa Barbara, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, was able to widen their grins.

The win, in the finals of the CIF doubles division at the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament on April 28, was especially big because it was a rematch of last year’s CIF Southern Section doubles finals, also won by Hladek and Matthews in a come-from-behind victory.

Hladek and Matthews both agreed on Tuesday, just three days after winning Ojai, that it hadn’t really sunk in yet. There was no time, not with the Pacific Coast League finals upcoming.

It was there that they also won the doubles championship on Friday, 6-1, 6-2, over teammates Josh Kim and Parker Rhodes.

But things don’t really have to sink in for Hladek, a senior, and Matthews, a junior. They treat every tournament with the confidence that comes with winning CIF, not playing together for 10 months then coming back with a win at “The Ojai,” widely considered one of the top junior tournaments in the area.

Plus, it’s hard for the Daily Pilot Athletes of the Week to put pressure on themselves when they’re just having so much fun.

“So, where’s our next one going to go?” Hladek asked Matthews on Tuesday, looking up at the wall of accomplishments at the CdM tennis courts.

They are already represented there after winning CIF last season, but they want to add another board and the wall is seemingly running out of room.

“Umm … I don’t know,” Matthews said, starting to laugh.

Unfortunately for Taylor Dent, the 1996 CIF singles champion for the Sea Kings who has gone on to win four titles on the ATP tour, his board appears to be the odd one out in Hladek’s smiling eyes.

“I think maybe we’ll move Taylor Dent,” Hladek said, starting to crack up.

The two shared a hearty laugh before Matthews, whisked back into reality, spoke again.

“Wow,” he said. “Knock on wood.”

But the carefree confidence isn’t misplaced. Matthews is easily the Sea Kings’ best singles player — he’s ranked No. 16 in Southern California in boys’ 18 singles by the United States Tennis Assn. But after watching Matthews play singles last year at Ojai, and Hladek play doubles with CdM grad and current Orange Coast College player Jon Kroopf, CdM Coach Tim Mang thought Hladek and Matthews would mesh well.

They were partners at last year’s Pacific Coast League finals, where they lost in the finals to University’s Gautam Vaidyanathan and Jason Lin, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6.

It remains their only loss as a doubles team.

“But [Uni] lost to Santa Barbara [in last year’s CIF semis],” Hladek said.

“And we beat them. Twice,” he added with a playful swagger that made Matthews start laughing again.

Quite a success story for Hladek, headed to Indiana University. He played tennis when he was younger but said he quit the sport from ages 10 to 16.

It was only last year that he picked the sport back up for CdM, but he found that his quick hands and great volley angles hadn’t gone away.

He mainly teamed with Kroopf last season, and was paired with Ryan Caughren for much of this year.

“I think it’s easier [to pick it up again] when you’re younger,” Hladek said. “I still had the shots and everything, everything stayed. It was just about footwork and conditioning.”

Matthews, meanwhile, engages in a constant juggling act. He is still a tournament player; he’s the No. 4 seed in an Anaheim junior tournament that began this weekend.

“Especially with [Advance Placement] exams coming up, I am so stressed out right now,” said Matthews, who is in AP U.S. History and Spanish.

Some junior tennis players decide to be home-schooled, since it may fit better with their tennis schedules. But Matthews said he enjoys attending CdM.

“It’s a lot more fun,” he said. “The atmosphere is better.”

Especially when you’re that dominant in tennis. Matthews said it was broadcast on the CdM morning announcements that he and Hladek had won Ojai.

“Then everyone comes and congratulates us,” he said. “I feel good about that, getting noticed.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.