THE PREPS : Never at a Loss : Lau Leads Fullerton’s Tennis Team With a Perfect Sophomore Season

Loraine Lau of Fullerton High School has lost a total of 3--count ‘em, 3--times in her high school tennis career.

Last year, Lau lost twice to Monica Davis of Troy and once to Danielle Scott of Corona del Mar in the Southern Section individual tournament.

And that has been it.

So far this season, Lau is 39-0. Fullerton’s No. 1 singles player is almost a cinch to win the Freeway League singles title this week.

Not bad for a 14-year-old sophomore who only began playing seriously when she started attending Fullerton.

How has she become so good so fast? Call it the Whatever Works Best method.

For instance, “When I first started I just hit the ball back,” she said. “I didn’t think much about my footwork. It wasn’t that hard to learn.

“I used to run around my forehand. All I used to do was lob on my forehand. I’d just hit these moon-balls back.”

That’s a little unusual. Most people run around their backhand, generally the weaker stroke.

It was a successful tactic when she was 10, but lost its effectiveness as she grew older. It didn’t work against more experienced players, she said. So, she picked up a 2-handed forehand.

That, too, is a little odd. Many people use a 2-handed backhand for more power and control, but a 2-handed forehand?

“I hit about 100 times better with it,” Lau said.

“She’s so natural,” Fullerton Coach Bonnie Hartshorn said. “She just flows to the ball. There’s none of this hit and watch stuff you see with so many young players.”

With Lau leading the way, Fullerton is headed for its fifth consecutive Freeway League team title.

“What’s most important,” Hartshorn said, “is when you have that kind of excellence, when you have someone of Loraine’s caliber, the other kids are going to pattern themselves after her.”

Indeed, Lau rates winning the team championship last year ahead of some notable personal achievements.

Another highlight came in September when she and her brother won a regional brother-sister competition.

Loraine and Greg Lau, 18, earned an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City for the final, which was at the National Tennis Center during the U.S. Open.

The Laus lost in the final, but Loraine said that wasn’t so bad. After all, they got to tour New York and she saw Steffi Graf play at the Open, which was the thrill of the trip, she said.

Back at Fullerton, Lau, brimming with confidence from her trip east, has been unbeatable this season.

“I like winning, of course,” Lau said. “(But) every time you lose you learn something. I wouldn’t mind losing sometimes. It’s not fun killing everyone, but I don’t mind it either.”

Lau tries to maintain her concentration even when she’s way out in front of the other team’s No. 3 singles player.

She’s looking forward to the Southern Section individual tournament and to the Ojai tournament, which will be in the spring. Both tournaments will offer much stiffer competition than she could find in the Freeway League.

Still further down the road, Lau said she would like to play at UCLA.

“I want to play there really badly,” Lau said.

Said Hartshorn: “There’s no reason she couldn’t play college tennis. And if she continues to (improve), there’s no reason she couldn’t play on the (pro) tour for a few years.”