TENNIS / SAM FARMER : Pedroza Getting Warmer in Quest to Crack Powerful Stanford Lineup

Warming up before a match in Stanford’s tennis stadium was exhilarating. The idea of entertaining spectators was ego-inflating. Kenny Pedroza expected as much.

What Pedroza did not expect was that the majority of his playing time would come in warmups. He was part of, not playing before, the crowd.

Stanford won its third consecutive NCAA title this season. Pedroza, a 1989 graduate of Buena High ranked 10th among Southern California 18s last year, was one of two freshmen to make the team as a walk-on.

The top eight players compete on a regular basis and the others practice and share pre-match rituals with the team; as one of the others, Pedroza spent his time playing in the No. 11 to No. 13 positions.

“I was playing as hard as I could but I couldn’t quite move up this year,” Pedroza said. “It was definitely as tough as I expected. As time passed, I realized I was as good as a lot of the guys on the team.”

Cracking the top eight will not be any easier for Pedroza, now playing on the national amateur circuit. Besides losing just one starter, Stanford landed Florida’s Chris Cocotos, one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits.

Regardless, Pedroza will still enjoy the spoils of victory.

“After a match, even if you haven’t played, people ask you for an autograph,” he said.

Nervous system: Occasionally, when the outcome of a match had been determined, Pedroza was given a chance to play.

He once teamed with senior John Connolly against visiting Cal, but the situation proved somewhat unnerving. Connolly hit a spectacular shot and the fans went wild.

This was heady stuff for a freshman. The crowd was, by Pedroza’s recollection, at capacity.

“I just know that it was full when I looked up,” he said. “I didn’t look up again.”

Tour update: A little playing time at Stanford apparently has served Pedroza well. In his first of nine weeks on the national amateur tour, he has hit his stride.

On Thursday, Pedroza and Chris Sappington defeated David Laudati and Mike Kolismanberger, 6-1, 6-2, to advance to the doubles semifinals of the Virginia Beach, Va., tournament.

Foreign flair: Only one of the top six players on the Texas El Paso tennis team is a U.S. citizen: Peter Morawiecki of Camarillo.

And even he hasn’t had that status for long.

Morawiecki, the Aggies’ No. 4 singles player, became naturalized Thursday. He emigrated from Poland 10 years ago and arrived in the United States in 1983 after stops in Austria and Canada.

The UTEP roster includes two Swedes, two Norwegians and a Nigerian.

Win and run: Morawiecki defeated Chris Green of Beverly Hills, 6-3, 6-4, last weekend to win a regional Los Angeles County Public Parks tournament at Griffith Park.

The implications of the victory did not immediately occur to Morawiecki, however, who was invited to play in the National Public Parks tournament in August in Canton, Ohio.

“I thought it was just a nearby tournament,” said Morawiecki, who did not lose a set throughout. “I found out all this after the final. I’d love to go. It just depends on how expensive it is. I’m at school now and I’m on a tight budget.”

Glendale’s Bruce Man Son Hing won a similar regional event in Arcadia last weekend, defeating Donny Isaak of L.A., 6-3, 6-0.

Scientifically speaking: Allen Fox, co-coach of the Pepperdine men’s tennis team, and Steve Flink, editor of World Tennis magazine, are writing a book on tennis strokes and strategies. Fox previously authored “If I’m the Better Player, Why Can’t I Win?”

Fox, of Calabasas, said that the new book will be for players of all abilities and will have a scientific tilt.

“I really approach the shots like a physicist. From the biomechanics,” said Fox, who has a Ph.D. in psychology and a bachelor’s degree in physics.