For Burroughs’ Garrett Auproux, it’s about balance

There is a large calendar at the home of Garrett Auproux that is continually being updated with dates, times and event listings.

The Burroughs High junior boys’ tennis standout and his family need the calendar to keep track of Auproux’s busy schedule. If he’s not taking lessons with two separate professionals at separate venues — one in West Los Angeles — Auproux is taking part in matches for the Indians boys’ team or traveling around the nation competing in United States Tennis Assn. tournaments.

Throw in his school schedule and finding time to study, and it all adds up to some hectic days for Auproux.

“It definitely gets hard sometimes, just trying to work everything in,” Auproux said. “It’s a good thing that I have parents who are always on my case about it, and they make sure I know what I have to do and where I have to be.”

Burroughs Coach Roy Bernhardt has witnessed first-hand the dedication and preparation it has taken for Auproux to become successful despite being pulled in many directions.

“His dad said he can’t wait until Garrett starts to drive so he won’t have to take him to all of the tournaments,” Bernhardt said. “He works out at the Rivera Country Club with a pro there and then he goes to work out with another pro some place else, then he has his homework and playing on the tennis team. He pretty much has a full plate.

“He’s a little different because the majority of the top players in the country are home-schooled. But Garrett wants the atmosphere and the experience of playing on a high school team and going to classes with kids his own age. He’s very well adjusted in that sense and he seems to make it all work.”

Along with enjoying success in state and national tournaments, Auproux has also made a name for himself at Burroughs. This past season, Auproux put together a triumphant campaign with the Indians, as he was nearly unbeatable. Along with winning his second straight Pacific League singles championship, he also advanced to the semifinals of the challenging CIF Southern Section Individual Tournament. In addition, he helped pace the Indians to the Division II playoff semifinals for the second consecutive year.

Because of his exploits, Auproux has been voted the 2012 All-Area Boys’ Singles Tennis Player of the Year by the writers and editors of the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader, La Cañada Valley Sun and Pasadena Sun.

Although sleep can often be at a premium for Auproux, he said he relishes the opportunity to play for his high school team and realizes all of his hard work will eventually pay off.

“I think it’s also a great preparation for college,” said Auproux, who is weighing his college options from a large group of schools. “I know a lot of kids, kids that I played against in tournaments, who are home-schooled who have a hard time in college because they never went to a regular high school. I have to wake up early every morning to make it to school, go to my classes and make sure I do my work.”

In addition to the dedication to his schoolwork, Auproux has a similar devotion on the tennis court. Since taking up the sport at age 5 with a class at the Burbank Tennis Center, he has continued to rise through the ranks of the USTA. Before turning 17 a few months ago, Auproux was ranked among the top 10 in the nation and No. 2 in Southern California among 16 year olds. With just a few tournaments under his belt in the 18s, he has already cracked the top 100.

In between taking part in some of the biggest tournaments in the nation, Auproux enjoyed a stellar season with Burroughs, which placed second in the Pacific League behind Arcadia.

Auproux breezed to the Pacific League singles championship, where he took on sophomore teammate Calvin Fox. Fox was no match for the more seasoned Auproux, losing in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

“It was great winning the league singles for the second year in a row,” Auproux said. “It’s a little awkward playing in the championship against a teammate. But we were joking around a little and that made it kind of nice. But he played really well and I congratulated him.”

Moving on to the CIF Individual tournament, Auproux enjoyed one of the most successful runs in history by an area player. Seeded fourth, Auproux — who fell in the round of 16 as a sophomore — advanced to the semifinals by defeating Tomas Aranguiz of Ayala, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.

In the final four, Auproux flirted with an upset before falling to top-seeded junior Gage Brymer of Irvine University, 7-5, 6-3, at the Seal Beach Tennis Center. Auproux ended the season with a 47-4 record and is 91-7 over the past two years.

“I was happy to make it to the semifinals, but my goal was to win the whole thing,” Auproux said. “It’s great that I made it that far, but I was hoping to keep going.”

Despite his individual success, Auproux also played a large part in Burroughs’ deep playoff run. Despite not being ranked among the top 10 teams in the division going into the postseason, the Indians persevered on their way to securing a spot in the semifinals for only the second time in school history.

Unfortunately for the Indians (13-3), playoff history would repeat itself, as they were defeated by eventual champion Palm Desert, 14-4, for the second straight year. In the loss, Auproux accounted for half of Burroughs’ set wins, posting a come-from-behind 7-5 second-set win against Austin Graham and earning a 6-0 victory against Ryan Marker.

Burroughs also lost to the Aztecs, 14-4, in the 2011 semifinals.

Burroughs doubles player Kevin Hoang, who won a league title with teammate Phillip Lam, said Auproux was the main reason why the Indians were successful during the season.

“There were times where he was just unstoppable,” said Hoang, who graduated in May. “We knew that we could always rely on him, no matter who we were playing. He came through for us so many times. He was the reason why we did what we did. I know he’s going to have a great senior year.”