Calabasas Gives Tennis Coach One More Banner for the Road

Joe Trahan has coached the Calabasas High boys tennis team for nine seasons, but it wasn’t until four years ago that he started a tradition--handing out Southern Section championship patches to his players.

In keeping with tradition, Trahan was the master of ceremonies Wednesday after the Coyotes defeated Dana Hills, 12-6, in the boys 3-A final at the Calabasas Tennis Club. It was Trahan’s fourth straight 3-A title.

It was also Trahan’s last. He is retiring.

“We’ve climbed the mountain many times,” Trahan said. “Each year, it gets a little harder to keep up the winning tradition. It’s like anything else. After a while, there are other things you have to look for in life.”

Trahan, who plans to spend his retirement playing on the seniors tennis circuit, led Calabasas to six Southern Section titles, including 2-A championships in 1979 and 1980. Under Trahan, the girls twice won the 2-A title.

On Wednesday, Steve Wiere and Steve Oliver, who have been members of four straight championship teams, led the Coyotes. Each won three singles matches.

“Who could ever hope to have two guys that good on the same team?” Dana Hills Coach Art Jenkins said. “For us to beat them, it would have taken a very special day.”

Jenkins was hopeful that his No. 1 singles player, Ryan Gately, would make the difference. At 14, Gately was, perhaps, before his time.

Jenkins started Gately against Calabasas’ No. 3 singles player, Al Martinez. A victory over Martinez might give Gately confidence before facing the more experienced Wiere and Oliver, Jenkins reasoned.

His plan backfired. Gately lost to Martinez, 6-2.

“I wanted to start against their No. 1 so that I’d be relaxed when I played their No. 3,” Gately said. “I was tense out there. I didn’t play well today.”

Wiere and Oliver were almost flawless.

Wiere, who has accepted a full scholarship to Northern Illinois, defeated Gately (6-2), John Anderson (6-0), and Steve Saba (6-0).

Oliver, who plans to attend UC Irvine on scholarship, earned three points with victories over Saba (6-0), Anderson (6-1) and Gately (6-2). He ended his last match against Gately with an ace.

“I had to,” Oliver said. “I knew it was my last point in high school. We won it so many times in a row. I couldn’t imagine losing.”

Neither could his teammates.

“It’s exciting because it’s our last year,” said Mike Bloom, who teamed with Craig Kaplan to win three doubles sets.

Said Kaplan: “Other than that, it’s just another blue banner.”

For Martinez, a freshman from Chile, it may be the first of many blue banners.

Martinez’s defeat of Gately set the tone for the final. With aggressive play, Martinez defeated Anderson, 6-3, but fell to Saba in his last match, 6-4.

The Calabasas tradition falls on Martinez’s shoulders next season. Besides Wiere and Oliver, Kaplan, Bloom and Jorgensen are also seniors. Kaplan will attend Washington, Bloom will attend Bucknell and Jorgensen plans to play at Cal State Northridge.

Trahan doesn’t believe Calabasas will be left empty-handed.

“We’ll have a good bunch of boys coming back,” Trahan said. “But, it’s the ending of an era. If there is a time to quit, it would be now.”