Pearce and Berger Favored in College Tennis Tourney

Brad Pearce of UCLA and Jay Berger of Clemson lead the way into the 1985 Volvo Tennis All-American Championships starting Thursday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA.

The four-day tournament features a 32-draw singles field and 16 doubles teams. The tournament is one of only five national collegiate events sponsored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Assn.

Pearce defeated Peter Fleming at a professional tournament here last month. The sophomore from Provo, Utah, was ranked No. 12 in the NCAA last season and finished with a 23-5 singles record.

Berger advanced to the round of 16 at this year’s U.S. Open and was No. 39 in the college rankings last season. Berger, from Plantation, Fla., has separated his shoulder four times.

Rick Leach of USC and Dani Leal of Pepperdine are other favorites in singles. Leach, from Laguna Beach, advanced to the singles semifinals at the World University Games last summer and, with Tim Pawsat, played in the doubles final. Leal was an All-American last season with a 23-11 singles record. The junior from Aurora, Ill., was ranked No. 34 last season.

Players from such perennial tennis powers as Stanford, Georgia, Tennessee, SMU and Trinity also are entered.

Thursday and Friday will have two sessions, at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., with semifinals Saturday and finals Sunday at noon.