SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JUNIOR TENNIS : Peterson Steps Into Spotlight

He’s an overnight sensation who insists he’s not.

In April, he won the 16-and-under division at the Easter Bowl tournament in Miami, his first national championship. He said he wasn’t surprised. Others were, and wanted to know more about him. They were eager to see how he would fare next.

A month later, he swept to the 16s title at the Ojai Valley tournament. Observers of junior tennis nodded in appreciation of this latest, gifted player to emerge from a horde of talented age-group players.

Meet Adam Peterson, a 15-year-old from Orange who recently finished his sophomore year at Mater Dei High School.

Until this year, he was merely the younger, promising brother of Dax Peterson, a standout at Mater Dei who now plays at San Diego State.

Peterson maintains he is well-known.

“I’ve been seeded pretty high in some national tournaments,” he said after winning at Ojai. “People know me.”

That’s true in the tightly woven circle of junior tennis. But if he keeps playing this well, he also will turn the heads of casual followers of the sport.

His string of victories this spring has earned him the No. 1 seeding in the Southern California Junior Sectional tournament, which begins Saturday at Los Caballeros Racquet Club in Fountain Valley. He has never finished higher than fourth, but figures to be one of the favorites to reach the final on July 1.

How has he done it?

Peterson said he hasn’t varied his routine. He spends as much time practicing at the same clubs, with the same people as he did five years ago when he began to take the sport seriously.

Really, he can’t explain it.

“I just try to play every day,” he said.

Buoyed by his recent victories, his confidence seems to be soaring. His movements have been precise and assured this spring, helping his game reach new levels.

Said David Roditi of San Clemente, after knuckling under to Peterson’s relentless pressure in a 6-1, 6-1 loss in the Ojai final: “He didn’t let me do anything today. That’s the best I’ve ever seen him play.”

Peterson seems unfazed by such praise.

“I’m pleased with my (recent) performances,” he said. “I just wanted to practice for the big tournaments. I wanted to do well. That was my goal.”

Peterson began playing at age “seven or eight,” nudged into the sport by his family. Not long after, the Petersons moved from Toledo, Ohio, to Orange County where the weather was more inviting to year-round play.

When he was “nine or 10” he began to play age-group tournaments with some success. He began playing national tournaments at 12.

But his first national title didn’t come until he won the Easter Bowl title in his first try this spring. Last year, he was ranked only among the top 35 in the country and his best finish at a national tournament was the round of 16 at the hardcourt championships in San Jose last summer.

Looking back, he calls the Easter Bowl tournament “a great experience.”

“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “It was fun because it was my first national title. I didn’t think about winning when I went there.”

But on April 14, he breezed past J.J. Jackson of Hendersonville, N.C., 6-2, 6-2, for the title.

“I was playing really good toward the end of the tournament,” he said.

Since his victory at Ojai, Peterson won the Angelus League singles title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Southern Section tournament, losing to Peter Jeschke of Santa Barbara.

He said he expects the upcoming sectional tournament to be as difficult as any he has played this year.

“I want to put myself in a position to do well,” Peterson said. “If I win, it’ll be great. If not, then I’ll try again next year.”

Sectional Notes

About 1,800 players are scheduled to play for championships in five divisions for boys and girls. Qualifying rounds begin Saturday with the main draw scheduled to begin Wednesday. The finals are scheduled July 1 at 9 a.m. . . . The top nine, plus a number of alternates to be determined, advance to the U.S. junior nationals, held at a number of sites around the country later this summer. . . . Anne Mall of Laguna Niguel and Dana Hills High School is the No. 1 seed in the girls’ 18-and-under division. Mall skipped the Seventeen Magazine Tournament of Champions last month to play in the Junior World Team Cup in Mexico. Keri Phebus of Newport Beach and Corona del Mar High, who won the Seventeen title, is seeded second. Page Bartelt of Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley High is seeded fourth in the 16s. . . . Brett Hansen-Dent of Newport Beach, who won the Southern Section singles title last month, is seeded second in the boys’ 18s. Jakub Pietrowski of Huntington Beach is seeded second in the 14s.

AT A GLANCE What: Southern California Junior Sectional tennis tournament, featuring the top age-group boys and girls players in the Southland.

When: Qualifying round play begins Saturday. Main draw begins Wednesday. Play begins at 8 a.m. each day. The finals are July 1 at beginning at 9 a.m.

Where: Los Caballeros Racquet Club, Fountain Valley.

How much: There is no admission charge. For further information call the club at 546-8560.