Tennis : Gary May Try to Pick Up the Pieces at Pierce

Nelson Gary III is considering making a tennis comeback at Pierce College this season--a prospect that thrills Brahma Coach Paul Xanthos.

In 1986, Gary was Pierce’s top-seeded player and advanced to the junior college division men’s singles final of the prestigious Ojai Valley tournament. In doing so, he caught the attention of several universities, among them UCLA and UC Irvine, and was offered an athletic scholarship to Columbia.

Then his promising future unraveled.

Gary, who had a near-fatal addiction to drugs before enrolling at Pierce, squandered his money during a visit to New York in 1987. “I didn’t eat or sleep for thirty days,” he said. His weight plummeted from 160 to 132 pounds.

Although Gary maintains that he was not taking drugs at the time, upon returning from New York he entered the ASAP treatment center in Van Nuys, where he now works as a drug rehabilitation technician.

Gary says he will drop tennis again if the pressure to perform becomes too intense.

“I’m going to take it real easy and I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “If I feel like it’s not too much of a strain, I’ll continue.

“I could play there all year and not lose a match. I could play there at No. 6 and lose every match or I could play there for three days and walk off.”

Xanthos is fully prepared for the various possibilities.

“It would be up to him,” Xanthos said. “He would go at his own rate and if he felt there would be any pressure on him, there would be a halt to it immediately. I just love Nelson.”

Horse feathers: Gary might have some difficulty getting his tennis legs back. Except shooting a few free throws and playing an occasional game of Ping-Pong, he has done little in the way of exercising during the past year.

Lest his coach be too concerned about Gary’s condition, however, consider this: A few weeks ago, Gary sprinted after an Arabian stallion for two miles at 6 a.m. . . . down Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

“It was like a Keystone Cops kind of thing,” Gary said.

The horse, which belonged to a friend of Gary’s, got loose after its stable was improperly closed. Gary finally corralled the stallion and returned it to his friend.

Back to school: Gabriel Harmat of Woodland Hills has a grandiose plan that he believes would benefit the tennis community: a developmental academy for juniors in the Valley area. He has begun to raise funds for the ambitious project, which he hopes will open within two years.

“There’s definitely a need for something like this,” Harmat said. “They’re tearing down these tennis facilities so the only places you can still play are at the high schools and parks.

“In L.A., if you’re not from a well-off family, chances are your kids will never play tennis.”

Meanwhile, Harmat, ranked fifth in the International Tennis Federation men’s 35-and-over singles division, is pursuing his own career. In October, he will compete in the ITF World Championships in Santiago, Chile. Harmat advanced to the semifinal round in 1988.

Two weeks ago in Tel Aviv, Harmat won a gold medal in the 35-and-over singles division of the Maccabiah Games.

Shattered dreams: Before Harmat gets too engrossed in his dream, perhaps he should talk to Steve Starleaf.

For 20 months, Starleaf has spearheaded a campaign to build a championship-caliber tennis facility in Burbank. City officials put plans for the $8 million center on hold in July, saying the hillside complex might have a negative impact on nearby residential neighborhoods.

Starleaf expects the proposal to be reviewed by the Burbank Parks and Recreation Department on Aug. 15.

Said Starleaf: “I’m optimistic that the City Council will see the real issue and the real benefit to the city and hopefully give us the ERN (exclusive right to negotiate) and give us a chance to put the thing together.

“I’m disappointed that it’s taken this long to move forward. I understand, dealing with the city, that these things take a lot of time. But I’m looking forward to the conclusion of this project one way or another. I’m exhausted.”