Estancia tennis trio helps Eagles fly high

Like in baseball, the lineups in high school boys’ tennis are probably best written in pencil.

Depending on the opponent, injuries, sickness or just searching for a winning formula, teams often shuffle their lineups around to best suit their needs.

But Estancia Coach Rachel de los Santos usually doesn’t need to use pencil on her singles lineup. She could use a fat-tipped Sharpie marker if she wanted.

That’s how dependable senior Bradley Fisher and juniors Ely Zaidler and Danny O’Neil have been for the Eagles the last few years.

Fisher has lost just twice this season for Estancia (6-2), as has Zaidler. O’Neil has lost four times, de los Santos said, although one of the matches against Bolsa Grande was one where was he was very sick.

In high school tennis, the first team to win 10 sets clinches the match. Fisher, Zaidler and O’Neil can routinely provide most of those for Estancia, ranked No. 6 in the CIF Southern Section Division IV coaches’ poll.

“We can go into every match knowing that we can secure at least six, if not seven, eight or all nine of the wins in singles,” de los Santos said. “It takes some pressure off of our doubles players. But, at the same time, sometimes I think it might take too much pressure off of the doubles players. Sometimes those will be the only nine wins that we get, but it’s nice. It’s nice knowing that we have that security and that dependability from them.”

All three players, who started playing tennis between the ages of 9 and 11, have been contributing to Estancia’s success for several years.

Fisher, who said he’s attending Orange Coast College next year and hopes to play tennis there, has been starting since his freshman year at Estancia. He started at No. 2 singles, then got bumped up to No. 1 after former standout Scott Braunsdorf graduated in 2006.

“We were having about the same results, so I knew when he graduated, I’d step in at No. 1 singles,” Fisher said. “That was pretty much what was going to happen no matter what.”

Zaidler and O’Neil, meanwhile, were a rising doubles team their freshman year. They finished second in the Golden West League individual tournament and advanced to the CIF Individuals regional.

Still, O’Neil said, they knew eventually they would step into singles spots. And, they have helped a rising program become ranked in CIF.

“Our division’s kind of weak, but it’s pretty cool being one of the only teams at Estancia being ranked,” O’Neil said. “We take some pride in that. It’s kind of neat ... It’s just a matter of doubles pulling it together. Once that starts to happen, I’d say we can pretty much beat any team in our division.”

It’s not cockiness for O’Neil to say that. The three players, in fact, rarely show any emotion on the court at all.

“For the most part, they’re very reserved and mellow players,” de los Santos said. “I think they rub off on each other in that way. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when they walk off the court whether they’ve won or lost.”

Usually, they’ve won.

The Eagles, who won the Golden West League championship in 2006, won the inaugural Orange Coast League title last year. They advanced to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs, before losing to top-seeded St. Margaret’s.

While facing Costa Mesa last week, the trio and their teammates stood in a circle, playing a racquet-based version of hacky sack that they say was started by senior teammate Hunter Golden.

“Whoever loses gets pelted by a ball, right Brad?,” O’Neil said, smiling at Fisher. “Well, when you’re Brad. It’s basically just hit Brad with the ball when you lose the game.”

Fisher quickly responded.

“I don’t know about that,” he said.

But on the tennis court, all three players know plenty.

“It’s a lot of fun out here,” O’Neil said. “We like to yuck it up, but still get stuff done.

Here’s a team-by-team look at boys’ tennis in the Newport-Mesa area:

CORONA DEL MAR

Coach: Tim Mang (14th year)

2007 record: 17-4, 6-2 in Pacific Coast League (second place); advanced to CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinals.

Key returners: Fabian Matthews (Sr.); Chris Damion (Jr.); Ryan Peyton (So.); Brent Pham (Sr.); Bryan Buchert (Sr.); Matt Fisher (So.).

Key newcomers: Shane Korber (Fr.); Gabino Felgueroso (So.); Hayden Tremper (Fr.); Joel Ishii (Fr.); David Vu (So.); Pierce Stemler (So.).

Key dates: National All-American Tournament, March 28-29; at Peninsula, April 16; at University, April 22; Ojai Invitational, April 23-26.

Outlook: Mang lost several doubles players from last year’s team, but CdM has plenty of freshmen and sophomores who can make a difference. That list includes Felgueroso, a foreign-exchange student from Spain who Mang said will bolster the Sea Kings’ doubles lineup.

Matthews, who has committed to UC Irvine, won the CIF Individuals doubles championship the last two years with graduate Dustin Hladek. Matthews is one of the best players in Southern California and usually sweeps at No. 1 singles, so finding six or more wins at other places will again be key for CdM.

CdM has lost in the Division I quarterfinals the last two years, but the mix of experience and young talent again makes the Sea Kings, ranked No. 7 in Division I, dangerous.

“They’re coming along great,” Mang said. “At the beginning of the year, people said, ‘Gee, they lost all those doubles players.’ But we’ve been working on doubles all year, and it’s paying off.”

COSTA MESA

Coach: Rick Gebhardt (first year)

2007 record: 2-9, 2-7 in Orange Coast League (tied for third).

Key returners: Jaci Cheskes-Harris (Sr.); Victor Tran (Sr.); Elliott Sneen (Sr.); Daniel Dang (Sr.); Thien Nguyen (Sr.); Nhu Truong (Sr.); Chris Huynh (Sr.); Henry Ta (Sr.); Andrew Nguyen (Jr.).

Key newcomers: Alex Adams (Fr.); Oskar Koller (So.); Brandon Dang (So.); Justin Dang (Fr.).

Key dates: home vs. Calvary Chapel, April 3; at Estancia, April 14; at Calvary Chapel, April 15; home vs. Estancia, April 17; home vs. Calvary Chapel, April 23.

Outlook: Gebhardt takes over for Sean Lance, who coached the Mustangs for four years. Gebhardt, a walk-on who occasionally coaches at Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach, said he was the junior varsity coach at Mesa several years ago, and that team only lost one game.

This year’s varsity team is without players like experienced program graduates John Ha, Shea Huffman and Ted Lee. But the Mustangs have plenty of seniors and have shown they can fight, dominating Estancia in doubles in the Eagles’ 10-8 win on March 20.

Gebhardt said he’s also excited about the potential of Adams and Koller, who teamed at No. 1 doubles against Estancia.

“I love kids, and that’s why I’m out here,” Gebhardt said.

ESTANCIA

Coach: Rachel de los Santos (seventh year)

2007 record: 14-6, 8-1 in Orange Coast League (first place); advanced to second round of CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs.

Key returners: Bradley Fisher (Sr.); Ely Zaidler (Jr.); Danny O’Neil (Jr.); Nick Oliver (Sr.); Rony Argueta (Jr.); Kevin Thomas (So.); Chris Koreerat (Sr.); Aashish Varma (Sr.).

Key newcomers: Sean Ulrich (Sr.); Hunter Golden (Sr.); Israel Torres (Sr.).

Key dates: at home vs. Laguna Beach, April 3; at home vs. Costa Mesa, April 14; at Laguna Beach, April 15; at Costa Mesa, April 17; at home vs. Laguna Beach, April 23.

Outlook: Fisher, Zaidler and O’Neil are three of the Orange Coast League’s best singles players. The Eagles will be looking for consistency out of their doubles to truly be a dangerous team.

Estancia clinched the league title outright last year by beating Calvary Chapel in its last league match. This year, perhaps in recognizance of the Eagles’ strong singles, Estancia is currently ranked No. 6 in the CIF Southern Section Division IV coaches’ poll.

De los Santos said she expects the league matches with Laguna Beach, all three of which were decided by a 10-8 score last year (Estancia won two), to be close again.

NEWPORT HARBOR

Coach: Kristen Case (first year)

2007 record: 8-8, 6-4 in Sunset League (third place); advanced to first round of CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs.

Key returners: John Hutchinson (Sr.), McKenna Duley (Sr.), Taylor Friend (Sr.); Daron Arnold (Jr.); Cameron Chase (Jr.); Josh Tuz (Jr.); Michael Gracia (Sr.); Ryan McKennon (Sr.).

Key newcomers: Erik Heimstaedt (So.); Jason Cernius (Fr.); Daniel Lee (So.); Craig McKennon (Fr.); Greg Brostek (Fr.).

Key dates: home vs. Edison, April 1; home vs. Los Alamitos, April 14; home vs. Esperanza, April 15; at Edison, April 17; at Los Alamitos, April 24; home vs. Marina, April 28.

Outlook: Case, who played tennis at Newport Harbor and Cal and coached the Sailors girls in the fall, is now on board for her first year with the boys.

She said winning the Sunset League championship is the goal this year. Newport Harbor will miss former No. 1 singles player Jake Fleming, now at UCLA, but they boast a deep and experienced team led by seniors like Hutchinson, who can play singles or doubles, and the doubles team of Duley and Friend. Arnold and Tuz are also dangerous singles players.

The Sailors, who got their courts resurfaced this year, hope the path to the league crown goes just as smoothly.

“My goal is to have [the seniors] go out with a bang, and have no regrets at the end of the season,” Case said. “They deserve a good year of tennis. They’re a really talented group of players.”

SAGE HILL

Coach: A.G. Longoria (eighth year)

2007 record: 12-12, 10-2 in Academy League (second place); advanced to CIF Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals.

Key returners: Kevin Wang (Jr.); Troy Astorino (Jr.); Karam Sethi (Sr.); Grant Gerdau (Sr.); Alex Yun (Jr.); Alex Koeberle (So.).

Key newcomers: Kevin Marshack (Fr.); Andrew Kurzwell (Fr.); Sean Batten (Fr.); David Fayngor (So.); Cyrus Khoyilar (So.); Greg Berchtold (Jr.).

Key dates: at St. Margaret’s, April 8; at home vs. St. Margaret’s, April 25.

Outlook: After losing in the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs for five consecutive years, this may finally be the year the Lightning get further.

Sage Hill, the top-ranked team in Division IV, returns six starters from a year ago. They include singles players Wang, Astorino and Sethi and doubles players Gerdau, Yun and Koeberle. Freshmen Marshack, Kurzwell and Batten are also starting in what Longoria says is the strongest doubles lineup in Sage Hill history.

The Lightning, who have also finished runner-up in the Academy League for five straight years, no doubt have the two matches against defending league champion St. Margaret’s circled on their calendars.

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