On and Off the Court, Marques Truly an Ace : Tennis: Laguna Hills’ top singles player also excels in the classroom.

Jenny Marques, No. 1 tennis player at Laguna Hills High School, is worried.

After missing most of the preseason with stress fractures in both legs, she was undefeated in Pacific Coast League play and carries her 30-3 record into today’s Southern Section round-of-16 match against Jennifer Wall of Arcadia.

But Marques has never made it past the Southern Section preliminaries, and her legs have been hurting of late. At last weekend’s National Indoor Championship in Overland Park, Kan., Marques lost in the round of 32 of the girls’ 18-and-under division and withdrew from the consolation matches.

Compounding her concerns is the application deadline for schools in the University of California system, which is today. Initially, Marques was mainly interested in out-of-state colleges. But after talking to coaches from California and UC Irvine during the past weekend, she changed her mind and set out to write an application essay--Tuesday night.

“I don’t know what I’m doing anymore,” Marques said. “I’m so confused. If I can just get this essay finished tonight, get it all set and find my SAT scores . . . this has just been a nightmare.

“I want to go somewhere where I am challenged, not only from outside competition, but every day by my teammates.”

Marques said the deadlines and pressure of aptitude testing has taken its toll. “I was talking to a girl at the nationals and she said she got a 680 on the SAT,” Marques said. “I said, ‘Oh that’s so good, on what section?’ and she said she meant the whole thing.

“She thought she was going to get a full ride to Pepperdine. I couldn’t help it--I just looked at her and said, ‘Are you serious?’ ”

Grades, however, have not posed a problem for Marques, who has taken advanced placement English and history for three years, and ended her junior year with a combined 4.06 grade-point average.

Since she plans to major in pre-law and attend college on a tennis scholarship, Marques has known for several years that she would need to excel in the classroom as well as on the court.

Marques has been the Hawks’ top player since her freshman year, when she had a 63-5 record and helped the Hawks to a 19-1 record. As a sophomore, she was undefeated (60-0) and led Laguna Hills to the Southern Section 3-A championships, where the Hawks lost in the final to San Marino. Last season, she posted a 54-0 record, and Laguna Hills, which has been league champion for five consecutive years, lost in the Southern Section semifinals.

Jack Hodges, who coached at Laguna Hills until this year when he left for the baseball coaching job at Saddleback Community College, says Marques thirsts for challenges.

“Jenny is very serious about what she does,” he said. “She’s very committed to improving her game, and yet sees the other side of what’s important, and that’s to enjoy her high school years.

“Sometimes, when you’re that talented, tennis can get in the way of other good things. But Jenny has a great ability to seemingly balance the two.”

Besides honing her tennis skills, Marques tries to fit in as many outside activities as possible.

She is active in the drama club. Last year, she played the leading role of Emily in the class production of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” She is a peer adviser for the senior class, a member of Students Against Drunk Driving and participates on the mock trial team that competes against other Orange County schools twice a week. She also is active in the California Scholarship Federation.

“I enjoy doing all the other things,” Marques said. “Tennis is enough to keep me busy. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, but I’m in mock trial because of my interest in law, I enjoy acting, and the others are so I can get that seal--graduate at the top of my class.”