 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Corona del Mar's Fabian Matthews Matthews became the first player from his school since 1996 to win the CIF-SS singles title. NICK KOON, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER |
CdM's Matthews grew into a top talent
|
Boys tennis player of the year: He punctuated stellar career with CIF-SS singles title.
He walked onto the Corona del Mar High tennis courts as a scrawny kid who had potential. And now he leaves Corona del Mar with a legacy.
Fabian Matthews in four years with the Sea Kings maximized his potential each year and punctuated a stellar career with a CIF-SS singles championship.
But the UC Irvine-bound senior, who is the Register's 2008 boys tennis player of the year, was no stranger to hoisting a CIF-SS plaque.
He had done so the past two seasons as a sophomore and junior, winning the CIF-SS doubles championship with a different partner each time.
But in those seasons he had a good supporting cast. This season, however, Matthews carried the Sea Kings as their leader on and off the court.
He was the team's best player and opposing teams in the playoffs gunned for him.
Matthews, who didn't lose a set all season until the final set in the playoffs, helped the Sea Kings push powerhouse Thousand Oaks to the brink of elimination but fell by just a few games in the second round of the CIF-SS Division I playoffs.
Matthews quickly was selected as a favorite among a short list of players to win the CIF singles title, and from that list he emerged as the best, beating Arroyo Grande's Andre Dome, 6-2, 6-7 (11), 6-1, to clinch the title.
Matthews became the first CdM player since Taylor Dent in 1996 and only third player in school history to win the prestigious title.
For his honed leadership skills and dominance on the court, Matthews is the choice as player of the year.
Corona del Mar coach Tim Mang, who is retiring, has coached a list of great players from Dent to Carsten Ball.
“He's in my top six,” Mang said about where Matthews ranks on the list of best players he has coached. “Taylor (Dent), of course, is at No. 1.”
Matthews certainly will represent the county as he transitions to the collegiate level.
“He's a lot smarter now and a lot stronger,” Mang said. “He can put shots away from center court; he's a much more complete player.”
Four years in the making. The progress and quality of tennis played by Matthews surely will be missed.
Contact the writer: mmelendez@ocregister.com
We want our site to be a place where people discuss and debate ideas that foster stronger communities. We built this for you. Please take care of it. Tolerate broad thinking, but take action against obscene or hateful material. Make it a credible and safe place worth preserving and sharing.
