Tennis : CS Long Beach, Ranked No. 2, Had to Crash the Gate to Join Local Elite

They had thought all was secure, at least for another year.

Surely, the uninvited would never find the exclusive party. Not just anyone could show up. That would ruin everything. The guests stood and smiled with satisfaction. Let the party begin. . . .

“Hi,” said the uninvited guest, crawling out from under the sofa. “It took me a long time, but now I’m here and I’m not leaving.”

Perhaps that’s the best way to describe the state of men’s college tennis locally. For years, it started and ended with USC, UCLA and Pepperdine.

But now, there’s a gate-crasher. Cal State Long Beach hasn’t budged from the elite since it upset UCLA, 5-4, on Feb. 17.

“We stopped their home win streak at 49,” Long Beach Coach Larry Easley said. “The funny thing is that we are the 49ers. Isn’t that something?”

Since then, the 49ers have left the other teams asking the questions. No. 2-ranked Long Beach (20-2) has lost only twice to top-ranked USC. In the first meeting, USC escaped with a 5-4 victory.

Easley doesn’t pretend he had it all figured out. He laughed when asked whether the No. 2 ranking has taken him by surprise.

“I was hoping to be No. 11 or No. 12,” said Easley, whose team had never been ranked higher than No. 15 before this season. “I can’t believe how well this team has come together.”

Part of Long Beach’s success comes from this unlikely equation: Two Swedes and a screamer. Sophomore Richard Bergh and freshman Patrick Hultgren are the Swedes and Kevin Gillette is the screamer.

Bergh, ranked No. 7 in the country, has defeated USC’s Rick Leach twice. Heading into this weekend, Bergh and Hultgren were undefeated at No. 2 doubles. As for Gillette, he hasn’t started a riot yet, but give him time.

In a match against UC Irvine last week, Gillette yelled after every point and frequently shook his fist at the opponents.

Even the easy-going fans were getting riled.

“Does anyone have a leash?” someone asked.

“He is definitely a spark plug,” Easley said.

The kind of guy who would crash a party.

Andrea’s Comeback, Part IV: It was no misprint in the tiny type last week. Indeed, 21-year-old Andrea Jaeger played, and won, two rounds at a tour stop in South Carolina. It was Jaeger’s first singles tournament since late 1985.

Jaeger was ranked No. 2 in the world in 1981 and reached the Wimbledon final in 1983 before succumbing to injuries. Her downward slide was punctuated by frequent on-court tantrums, scuffles with opponents and many half-hearted attempts at winning matches.

Although many fingered Jaeger as a prime victim of tennis burnout, she always denied having a membership in the not-so-exclusive club. Not me, Jaeger claimed in a rambling press conference after she lost in the second round at the 1985 U.S. Open.

At that point, Jaeger was in the midst of, yes, another comeback. Last year, she limited her participation to charity doubles events and Team Tennis. During those matches, Jaeger continued to have problems with a rotator cuff injury in her right shoulder.

So, is last week’s tournament just another false start or a bona fide attempt?

“It was a test tournament for Andrea,” said Peggy Gossett, who is a tour spokesperson. “We have been working with her and keeping in touch with her even when she hasn’t been playing. Andrea just wanted to see how she was playing and how she felt during the tournament.”

Although Jaeger doesn’t have a computer ranking and must rely on wild cards, acquiring them won’t be much of a problem because of her name. Winning, on the other hand, will be.

Her victories in South Carolina came against unknowns Susan Sloane and Patricia Tarabini, before No. 109-ranked Bettina Fulco of Argentina beat her in the third round.

Contrary to popular belief, former Davis Cup captain Arthur Ashe does not spend all of his time answering questions about the decline of American tennis.

Ashe is in the midst of finishing his book, “A Hard Road To Glory: History Of The African-American Athlete.” It is scheduled for publication in October, and by that time Ashe hopes to have compiled a somewhat definitive history of the black athlete.

Ashe, who began the project four years ago, divided the book into three sections and it includes 36 sports and records.

“In order to do it, it really takes a massive effort,” Ashe said. “You can’t find these things in your local library. You have to look through newspapers in people’s attics and cross check with other sources because people’s memories aren’t always accurate.”

The rivalry of the ‘90s, Hana Mandlikova versus Steffi Graf, may never equal Chris Evert Lloyd vs. Martina Navratilova, but it does show signs of holding the public’s interest.

This goes beyond the closeness in ranking. Graf recently passed Lloyd to take the No. 2 spot, and Mandlikova is No. 4.

While Graf was garnering all the attention at the recent Lipton International Players Championship tournament, Mandlikova let it be known she wasn’t impressed.

“I’ll feel threatened by Steffi when she starts beating me regularly and starts winning Grand Slam tournaments,” Mandlikova said.

And Mandlikova also accused Graf of playing games with the computer, that is, skipping selected tournaments. Graf missed the last two grass-court Grand Slam tournaments, withdrawing from Wimbledon because of a virus and skipping the Australian Open to take time off.

“I don’t play the computer, just balls and players,” Mandlikova said. “Steffi only plays outside and only in selected tournaments. I could be higher than her if I did what she does.”

Tennis Notes

With a victory in the prestigious Blue-Gray men’s tournament last weekend in Montgomery, Ala., USC solidified its No. 1 ranking. The Trojans defeated No. 4 Georgia in the semifinals and No. 2 Cal State Long Beach in the final. Other area teams in the top 10 include No. 3 UCLA and No. 8 Pepperdine. And, not much has changed in the individual rankings as SMU’s Richey Reneberg still holds the top spot. Despite some recent losses, USC sophomore Luke Jensen is No. 2. Rounding out the top seven are Cal’s Steve DeVries, Georgia’s Philip Johnson, Pepperdine’s Andrew Sznadjer, USC’s Rick Leach and Long Beach’s Richard Bergh. . . .Chapter Two of the USC-UCLA rivalry takes place when the Bruin men play host to the Trojans on Saturday. USC won the first match, 5-1, at Marks Stadium on March 14. . . . Here are the Southern California Tennis Assn.’s top-ranked singles players in various age groups for 1986--Girls’ 10 and under: Lindsay Davenport (Palos Verdes); Boys’ 10s: Glenn Weiner (Long Beach); Girls’ 12: Akiko Kambe Gooden (Los Angeles); Boys’ 12s: Graham Gilles (Laguna Beach); Girls’ 14s: Laxmi Poruri (Upland); Boys’ 14s: Michael Joyce (Los Angeles); Girls’ 16s: Debbie Graham (Fountain Valley); Boys’ 16s: Bill Behrens (Rancho Palos Verdes); Girls’ 18s: Cinda Gurney (Palos Verdes Peninsula); Boys’ 18s: Jeff Tarango (Manhattan Beach). Charles Adams (Pacific Palisades) is top-ranked in men’s singles, and Shandra Livingston (Carson) is top-ranked among the women.