Stoic Sundahl Puts El Camino Real Into Tennis Final Against University

You won’t see Mark Sundahl of El Camino Real High have an emotional outburst or scream obscenities during a tennis match.

Sundahl, the Conquistadores’ No. 1 singles player, believes that a mature attitude is as important to his success as an accurate backhand.

Sundahl displayed both Thursday as he clinched El Camino Real’s 16-13 1/2 victory over Palisades in a City Section 4-A Division semifinal match at The Racquet Centre in Studio City.

El Camino Real plays top-seeded University for the team championship Wednesday. The Warriors ousted No. 5 Taft, 20-9 1/2, in the other semifinal.

After winning consecutive tiebreakers, Sundahl shut out Drake Jantzen, Palisades’ No. 4 singles player, 6-0, to give El Camino Real the win.

Sundahl, a senior, secured the decisive point in typical fashion--unemotionally.

“I’ve learned to keep my emotions in control after playing tennis for about 10 years,” Sundahl said.

El Camino Real (15-3) also got a boost from its doubles teams, which scored nine of the 15 points it needed to win. The Conquistadores won six of nine sets in doubles.

“We have good doubles, but our strength this year has been in singles,” El Camino Real Coach Ralph Stam said. “But the doubles really came through for us today.”

Palisades Coach Bud Kling, whose Dolphins have won 10 of the past 11 division titles, agreed.

“They played much better today in doubles, that was the difference,” Kling said.

In the other semifinal, Taft (11-3) won just two of 16 sets in singles. University’s victory spoiled Taft Coach Marvin Jones’ hopes for an All-West Valley League showdown in the championship match.

El Camino Real and Taft were co-champions in the West Valley League. University (17-0) won the Western League title with an 8-0 record.

Jones said Taft needed strong play from his doubles teams to have a chance of upsetting University.

“The doubles was the key to our winning today,” Jones said. “But I knew that if we won today it would be a miracle.”

Taft, which will lose five of its 10 starting players, defeated Van Nuys, 16-13 1/2, in the quarterfinals. University defeated the Toreadors, 6-1, in a practice match in March.

El Camino Real, which defeated North Hollywood, 17-12 1/2 in the quarterfinals, also lost to University in a practice match in March.

“They’re really tough and they are even stronger now than when we played them,” Stam said.

University, however, has not won a division title since 1978.

“I think we have the strongest team, but the way the teams are playing there could be an upset,” University Coach Tom Anderson said.