Southern Section Tennis : Santa Barbara Foils Strategy, Beats South Torrance for Title

Coach Dave Corman of South Torrance High School figured his team had little chance to beat undefeated Santa Barbara in the Southern Section boys’ 4-A team tennis final Wednesday.

So he moved his No. 1 singles player to doubles, giving up the singles in hopes of scoring an upset.

“So much for strategy,” Corman said after Santa Barbara had won easily, 19-9, at the Knowlwood Tennis Club.

Santa Barbara finished the season unbeaten in 25 matches. South Torrance wound up 22-3.

Corman’s gamble involved moving No. 1 singles player Forrest (Woody) Hunt to doubles with partner Joe Imel, but the strategy backfired when Hunt and Imel were beaten by the Dons’ No. 1 doubles team of Alex Nizet and Eric Peus, 6-2, 6-3.

If Hunt and Imel had been able to win, South and Santa Barbara would have been tied, 7-7, at the halfway point. Instead, South trailed, 10-4, and could only watch helplessly as Santa Barbara coasted to the title.

“We’re right in the ball game if we had won those,” Corman said.

“That was the key,” Santa Barbara Coach Jack Trigueiro said. “Otherwise, we have a tough match.”

Trigueiro has won 18 straight Channel League titles, but this was his first Southern Section title. His son, Tim, won all four of his singles matches to ensure his first title.

According to Corman, however, it was Nizet who made the difference. “He’s had a day you wouldn’t believe,” Corman said.

Nizet and Peus also defeated Hunt’s brother Rod and Jamie Talbot, meaning that they scored six of Santa Barbara’s 19 points.

“I couldn’t really get psyched for doubles,” Hunt said. “They broke my serve and then we both started playing badly.”

Next year will be a different story for Hunt and Nizet. Both will be playing for the University of California.

Calabasas, getting a surprising, 4-0 performance from No. 4 singles player Corey Jorgenson, rolled to a 22 1/2-5 1/2 victory over Los Altos of Hacienda Heights in the 3-A championship match at Industry Hills Country Club. Jorgenson defeated Steve Jung, 6-4; Bassil Aish, 7-5; Jeff Grobecker, 6-1, and Allen Ottoson, 6-0.

Calabasas, champion of the Frontier League, won its second straight 3-A title and completed a 19-4 season. Sierra League champion Los Altos finished 21-2. The match was a rerun of the 1984 final, when Calabasas beat Los Altos, 24-4.

Indio, which might be the second best team in the Southern Section, dismantled Diamond Bar, 21-7, to claim the 2-A championship at Mt. San Antonio College.

The Rajahs (24-1) swept all eight doubles sets, earning 12 points. Ricardo Garza and Mike Brown teamed up to win six points, with Arturo Garza and John Mitchell adding six more. Not to be outdone, the third Garza brother, Ernesto, won all four of his singles sets.

Diamond Bar, the Hacienda League champion, was 23-2, its only losses coming to Indio. Indio beat the Brahmas, 23-5, in a non-league match.

In the 1-A division at Hans Christian Andersen Park in Solvang, freshmen Matt Semler and Charlie Engs each won four sets to lead Carpinteria Cate to its first Southern Section team title with an 18-10 victory over Santa Ynez.

Cate, seeded No. 1, completed a perfect 18-0 season. Semler, a freshman from Portland, was undefeated in dual matches.

Santa Ynez finished 22-2, both losses at the hands of Cate.