USC’s Witsken Proves His Talent Once Again in an Easy Tennis Win

RANCHO MIRAGE — Every now and then, the thought occurs to USC’s No. 1 tennis player, Todd Witsken:

Turn pro, Todd. You have the credentials, you have the strokes. Now, how about going after the bucks?

And, for four years running, Witsken has dealt with that thought the same way he would approach an opponent’s short lob--with an overhead smash that sends it careening out of view.

“It is so tempting,” Witsken said. “All that glamour, all that money. But I’d really like to finish school. If I had left after my freshman or sophomore years, I doubt if I would’ve finished my degree.”

A B.A. in business administration is one reason why Witsken, now a senior, has held on to his college eligibility. But another--and in the short term, probably more important to him--is the challenge of winning an NCAA singles championship.

This is Witsken’s last chance. And although the specter of defending NCAA titlist Mikael Pernfors of Georgia still looms on the East Coast, early indications are that Witsken is ready to make a serious run at No. 1.

Sunday, he began the new year with a convincing victory in the Marriott’s National Collegiate Tennis Tournament at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort. Seven of the nation’s Top 10 men’s players were entered in the three-day event and in the final, Witsken overwhelmed No. 6, John Ross of SMU, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.

Witsken won by staying on the baseline, by coming to the net, by serving, by volleying, by outhitting and outhustling Ross from start to finish.

Ross has played Witsken for years, dating back to their early days on the juniors circuit, and has yet to figure him out.

“Todd is very unpredictable,” Ross said. “He can do so many things, he can put the ball so many places on the court. You can’t read what he’s going to do.”

And Sunday Witsken also received a helping hand from the chair judge.

With the first set tied at 4-4 and Ross a point away from taking a 5-4 lead, Witsken hit a forehand that appeared to land six inches long. Ross, thinking the point was over, swung half-heartedly at the ball--sending it past the opposite baseline.

But there had been no long call on Witsken’s shot. Instead, the umpire ruled it good--giving the point to Witsken.

Emotionally, Ross became unglued. His game followed suit shortly thereafter.

Witsken proceeded to salvage the game, close out the set at 6-4 and breeze through the second set at 6-1. Following the controversial non-call, Ross managed to win only one game.

By winning this tournament, Witsken’s No. 3 ranking should move up a notch (No. 2 Dan Goldie of Stanford lost to Ross in Saturday’s semifinals) and then Witsken can narrow his sights in on No. 1--Georgia’s Pernfors.

“I’d like to meet him in the NCAA finals,” Witsken said, looking ahead to Athens, Ga., in May. “He’s a good challenge for me.”

In the women’s division--or the Rich Get Richer Dept.--defending NCAA titlist Stanford unveiled yet another new name with a formidable tennis game, freshman baseliner Anna Ivan.

Playing No. 1 singles on a team that features three returning Top-10 players, Ivan won the tournament championship with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory over San Diego State’s Linda Howell.

Stanford has the nation’s Nos. 2-, 3- and 9-ranked players (Linda Gates, Patty Fendick and Leigh Ann Eldredge), but Ivan earned the right to play the first flight by beating Gates and Fendick in challenge matches during practice.

It was a fortuitous break for Ivan, “a chance to show my stuff,” as she put it. And in the first two rounds, Ivan defeated No. 4 Beverly Bowes of Texas and No. 5 Carolina Kuhlman of USC.

Then she faced Howell, who had upset U.S. Olympian and No. 1-ranked Gretchen Rush of Trinity on Saturday. And at the start, Ivan appeared overmatched--falling behind, 5-1, in the first set.

But eventually, she began to figure out Howell’s serve-and-volley strategy. And after that, it was patience, patience, patience.

“After a while, I started to know where she was going,” Ivan said. “I just stayed back and tried to go to the open court.”