PRESEASON O.C. TOP 10
1. University: The three-time defending champions again return a wealth of talent led by UCLA-commit Gage Brymer, Tyler Lu (Yale) and Stefen Menichella (Pepperdine). The Trojans are gunning for their eighth consecutive trip to the CIF finals.
2. Corona del Mar: Under first-year coach Jamie Gresh, the Sea Kings are poised for another great season. Their two matches against Pacific Coast League foe University (March 19, April 11) figure to be among the season’s best in the county.
3. Los Alamitos: The Sunset League favorites return some great talent and add highly touted freshman Riley Smith, the son of USC men’s tennis coach Peter Smith.
4. Beckman: Nick Friendt said his 2013 team contains the best talent he has had as coach. After winning just one match in the grueling Pacific Coast League a season ago, the Patriots look for improvement this season.
5. Irvine: Kenny Gea and Kenny Song headline a senior-laden lineup that also aims to finish higher in the Pacific Coast League standings this year.
6. Tesoro: The county’s highest-ranked Division 2 program, the Titans look to build off 2012, when they went 15-2 and 8-0 in Sea View League play. Keep an eye on No. 1 singles player Luke Mountain.
7. Valencia: The Tigers won the CIF-SS Division 3 title last season and return a solid group of players.
8. Esperanza: Led by our 2012 Coach of the Year Patrick Young, the Aztecs appear poised for another great season. Look for Pinoe Chu and Shane Cruz to compete for Century League singles MVP honors.
9. Santa Margarita: A pair of sophomores, Max Boice and Ricky Kurtz, headline an Eagles squad that went 10-0 in the Trinity League a year ago.
10. Woodbridge: The Warriors play in the toughest conference, the Pacific Coast League, but finished last season ranked eighth in Division 1.
Related article: Young Troy regrouping around its new coach
IMPORTANT DATES
Foothill vs. Santa Margarita, Thursday; University vs. Los Alamitos, March 5; Corona del Mar vs. Peninsula, March 5; Santa Margarita vs. Tesoro, March 5; Corona del Mar at Palos Verdes, March 6; Tesoro vs. University, March 7; Corona del Mar vs. Fountain Valley, March 12; Corona del Mar vs. Los Alamitos, March 13; Northwood vs. Santa Margarita, March 13; Santa Margarita vs. Servite, March 14; Esperanza vs. Canyon, March 14; Corona del Mar All-American Tournament, March 15-16; Corona del Mar vs. University, March 19; San Clemente vs. Tesoro, March 19; University vs. Irvine, March 21; Esperanza vs. El Dorado, March 21; Santa Margarita vs. Orange Lutheran, March 21; Woodbridge vs. University, March 26; Irvine vs. Corona del Mar, March 26; University vs. Beckman, March 28; Corona del Mar vs. Woodbridge, March 28; Corona del Mar vs. Palm Desert, April 2; Tesoro vs. San Clemente, April 2; Dana Hills vs. Corona del Mar, April 3; Northwood vs. University, April 9; Beckman vs. Corona del Mar, April 9; Servite vs. Santa Margarita, April 9; University vs. Corona del Mar, April 11; Sage Hill vs. Santa Margarita, April 12; Corona del Mar vs. Irvine, April 18; Corona del Mar vs. Northwood, April 19; Santa Margarita vs. Troy, April 22; Woodbridge vs. Corona del Mar, April 23; Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament, April 25-27; Corona del Mar vs. Beckman, April 29; CIF-SS playoffs, May 6-8, 17, 21, 24-25, 30-31, June 1.
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O.C. PLAYERS TO WATCH
Alec Adamson, Corona del Mar, Sr.; Boris Alenikov, Los Alamitos, Jr.; Jayson Amos, El Toro, Sr.; Shadrin Andres, Valencia, Jr.; Alex Arentsen, Orange Lutheran, Sr; Jacob Arnold, Orange Lutheran, Sr
Vatsal Bajpai, Los Alamitos, Soph.; Max Boice, Santa Margarita, Soph.; Gage Brymer, University, Sr.; Max Cancilla, Marina, Fr.; Luis Castillo, Beckman, Jr.; Deran Chan, Beckman, freshman; Wayne Chen, Irvine, Sr.; Pinoe Chu, Esperanza, Sr.; Anthony Clark, Cypress, Jr.; Matthew Cruz, Cypress, Sr.; Shane Cruz, Esperanza, Soph.
Drew Dawson, University, Jr; Stefan Doehler, Foothill, Jr.; Chaz Downing, Corona del Mar, Soph.; Raj Gadhe, El Dorado, Sr.; Kenny Gea, Irvine, Sr.; Arash Hafezi, University, Soph.; Ryan Hahn, Troy, Fr.; Teague Hamilton, Laguna Beach, Sr.; Richard Han, Servite, Soph.; Riku Hasiyada, University, Soph.; Charles Hicho, Troy, Sr.; Bjorn Hoffman, Corona del Mar, Fr.
Yash Kelkar, Valencia, Jr.; Paul Kim, Servite, Sr.; Thomas Kim, El Dorado, Jr; Josh Kliger, Corona del Mar, Jr.; Konrad Kozlowski, University, Soph.; Garrett Kurtz, University, Fr.; Ricky Kurtz, Santa Margarita, Soph.; Darrus Lee, Cypress, Fr.; Kevin Lee, Troy, Soph.; Morgan Lebby, Laguna Beach, Sr.; Austin Lee, Valencia, Soph.; Chase Lipscomb, Woodbridge, Soph.; Tyler Lu, University, Sr.;
Allen Ma, Irvine, Sr.; Camden Marco, Los Alamitos, Sr.; Ryan Mariano, San Clemente, Sr.; Chase Masciorini, Dana Hills, Jr.; Kyle McCann, Los Alamitos, Soph.; Blaine Mengert, Orange Lutheran, Sr.; Jae Min, University, Fr.; Stefan Menichella, University, Sr.; Luke Mountain, Tesoro, Jr.;
Brian Park, Beckman, Sr.; Michael Park, Tesoro, So.; Ryan Peterman, Esperanza, Sr.; Mark Penner, El Dorado, Fr.; Josh Piatos, University, Fr.; Jonathan Pulido, Troy, Sr.; Jake Rogers, Esperanza, Jr.; JJ Sahabu, Valencia, Jr.; Jonathan Santana, Servite, Sr.; Riley Smith, Los Alamitos, Fr.; Kenny Song, Irvine, Sr.; Axel Stern, Beckman, Fr.;
Ryan Teng, Beckman, Soph.; Matt Tran, Beckman, Jr.; Eric Tseng, University, Jr.; Nic Valko, San Clemente, Jr.; Will Walker, Fullerton, Jr.; Carson Williams, Corona del Mar, Jr.; Derek Wu, El Dorado, Jr.; Jay Yeam, San Clemente, Fr.
