Southern Section Tennis : Mira Costa’s Tarango Reaches Semifinals at Newport Beach

Jeff Tarango, Mira Costa High School’s No. 1 player, seems to be skipping his way to the top in tennis.

He is seeded first in this year’s Southern Section individual tennis championships now under way at the Newport Beach Tennis Club.

Tarango won both his singles matches Friday. He beat Tony Buijon of Indio, 6-1, 6-0, in the first round and Eric Peus of Santa Barbara, 6-0, 7-5, in the quarterfinals. He will meet Steve Oliver of Calabasas in today’s semifinals.

Last year, he was unseeded in the tournament.

“I just skipped stages,” Tarango said. “But I expect it to turn around at any second.”

No one else seems to share this expectation.

The United States Tennis Assn. has ranked Tarango No. 1 in the Southern Section 18-and-under age group in singles and No. 2 in the nation in doubles. He won the Bay League singles championship twice and was recently selected for the 1986 Junior Davis Cup team.

He is currently the Adidas Tennis Player of the Month and a nominee for the Prince All-America Tennis Player of the Year.

Quite an accomplishment. But, it’s not Tarango’s style to brag.

“Jeff is not swell-headed and he doesn’t (think he can) walk on water,” said Jeff Verner, Mira Costa’s tennis coach. “People just like him.”

Especially college tennis coaches. Tarango, a senior, pondered eight athletic scholarships before he decided to attend Stanford next fall.

The tournament will continue today at the Newport Beach Tennis Club at 11:00 a.m.