Australian Catalyst for Playoff-Bound Sailors Tennis Team

Simone DeChesne’s motivation for coming to America as an Australian exchange student was varied. The Newport Harbor High School senior came for the experience and the adventure a new country has to offer.

And she also came to play tennis, which she does very well.

DeChesne has helped lead the Newport Harbor girls team back into the CIF Southern Section playoffs, which begin next week, after a five-year absence. The Sailors are currently 16-3, ranked ninth in the 4-A division, and will finish third in the Sea View League behind Woodbridge and Corona del Mar.

Charlie Bleiker, Newport Harbor coach, credits the addition of DeChesne for pulling the team together and making it more competitive in what he calls Orange County’s toughest league.

“She made us, she really did,” Bleiker said. “She’s added a lot. It gives us the one missing link, and sometimes that’s all it takes. When you get that one extra player, it pulls everyone else (on the team) up a notch. It’s a psychological advantage.

“To be honest, we’d probably have finished third in the league without her, but we wouldn’t have been knocking heads with Woodbridge and Corona (del Mar).”

DeChesne, a left-hander, plays third singles for Newport Harbor and is undefeated when she teams with Leslie Ryan in doubles.

But DeChesne has added a lot more to the Newport Harbor program than her physical talents. Pleasant and outgoing, DeChesne seems to have a perpetual smile.

“She’s such a pleasure, such a fun person to have around, that she motivates the other players,” Bleiker said.

DeChesne has found that the level of tennis in Southern California, which she said is better than it was in her hometown of Sydney, just one of the adjustments she has had to make since coming to America in July.

In Australia, DeChesne attended an all-girls Catholic school that didn’t offer a tennis program. She practiced at a club after school and played competitive matches only on the weekends, instead of twice a week as she does now.

DeChesne said she found the biggest difference between Australia and America in the school systems.

“Everything is much more relaxed here, the teachers are really nice. They don’t yell and scream at you like they do at home,” she said. “School is a lot more fun here (and) it’s not as regimented. Also, the people here aren’t as pretentious as they are at home.”

Just imagine DeChesne’s surprise when she discovered that American preoccupation with cable TV.

“Fifty channels, my goodness,” she said. “At home, we’ve got three. And no MTV.”

Despite being placed with the William F. Webster family in affluent Newport Beach, DeChesne did not experience a tremendous culture shock. In Sydney, the DeChesnes live on a five-acre estate, complete with tennis court.

In addition to her parents, DeChesne has two sisters and a brother. Simone’s father, a life insurance consultant, owns his own business and her mother has a degree in computer science and plans to have her own business as well.

DeChesne must return to Australia in July when her visa expires, but she said she hopes to be able to return to America in the fall and attend college. She has already applied to several, including UCLA, USC and Notre Dame, and would like to continue playing tennis while majoring in either sports psychology or French.

Although she claims to be having the time of her life, DeChesne occasionally comes down with a mild case of homesickness.

“It’s difficult because you want to share these things that you’re experiencing with them,” she said. “It’s too hard writing letters. I can’t write quick enough.”

If Newport Harbor does as well in the playoffs as Bleiker expects it will, DeChesne will soon have plenty more to write home about.