Tennis : Businesses Supporting This Racket in Danger Only of Losing Matches

Pizza parlors across the Valley beware. Barber shops, clear the magazines from the shelves. Gas stations, order those T-shirts.

If Fred Pearl’s plan reaches fruition, those local business--and dozens of others--will be displaying tennis trophies with the same kind of pride that they have for their softball and bowling hardware.

Pearl, president of the San Fernando Valley Tennis Patrons, has organized the Commercial Tennis League, a team league with individual entries sponsored by local businesses.

Although only four teams have committed so far, Pearl hopes to have as many as seven by the time the summer session begins in early August and he wants a “greatly expanded league” in the fall.

“It’ll be just like the commercial softball leagues. Most of the teams are sponsored by Mike’s Pizza or Joe the Barber,” Pearl said.

Each team consists of six players, four of whom will compete in both singles and doubles. The other two compete only in doubles. The teams will play each other twice with the winner receiving nothing more than a pat on the back and a handshake.

“It’s just a ‘go out there and hit the ball’ kind of league,” Pearl said.

Some people have compared the CTL to the USTA Volvo League, a nationwide league which recently finished local competition in the Valley and Ventura County and moves on to sectional and national competition in August.

Although similar in their “team concept,” the CTL and Volvo circuits are significantly different, according to Pearl.

“They have a national championship and it’s very competitive. We’re more of a social-type competition,” he said.

Information: (818) 342-7268.

New Art: Art Thomloi might have stepped up in classification, but the Notre Dame High junior hasn’t dropped off in trophy-producing performances. Thomloi recently moved from the 16-year-old-and-under division in junior competitions to the 18-and-under level. Since the switch, he has finished second in one tournament and third in another.

Thomloi, who has won two consecutive Del Rey League individual titles, took second in the 57th Los Angeles Metropolitan tournament last week after finishing third in the 10th Racquet Centre summer tournament last month.

And even though Thomloi enjoys filling the family trophy case, the main reason he is playing is so the family bank account doesn’t drain when he enrolls in college.

“I’m doing it for a college scholarship,” he said.

Awards time: Mark Sundahl, El Camino Real High’s No. 1 singles player, was named a second-team All-City Section singles player.

Joining Sundahl from El Camino Real--the 4-A runner-up last season--on the second team is the doubles team of Res Witschi and Mike Kato. Conquistadores on the third team include singles players Oscar Pincon and Scott Blumin.

First-team doubles players included North Hollywood’s David Kaiden and Natt Narkthong, Chatsworth’s Rajeev Datt and Justin Sherring, and Van Nuys’ Tom Oh and Suresh Rasaretnam.