TENNIS : Gallien Breaks Off Courtship With Pepperdine

Richard Gallien felt the squeeze. It was there all along.

Sure, he was working in the peaceful environs of Malibu and coaching men’s tennis at placid Pepperdine. Pressure, however, was omnipresent.

“I always admire the coaches who say they don’t take the job home with them,” Gallien said last August. “I take it to my pillow with me.”

Gallien, 29, who recently moved from Canoga Park to Marina del Rey, has some restful nights in store. After coaching the Waves for six seasons, both as an assistant and a co-coach, he retired last week.

The program sapped his energy and left him little time for other commitments, said Gallien, who will be married Aug. 18.

“The final decision really wasn’t made until after the season, but emotionally it had been made before that,” said Gallien, a two-time All-American at Pepperdine. “It was very taxing. I felt that it was going to be too difficult for me to keep going at that pace emotionally over a long period of time. I’m a worrier, and there are nonstop worries involved.

“I felt it was time to devote more of my positive energy to my wife. I think coaching is one of those jobs that you have to be devoted to 110%. But to go back in the fall just wasn’t in my heart.”

After struggling in 1989, Pepperdine rebounded and finished eighth in NCAA Division I last season. Victories served as small consolation to Gallien, however.

“Rich is the world’s greatest perfectionist,” said Allen Fox, who shared coaching responsibilities with Gallien. “If we have a down year, it bothers everyone, but especially Rich.”

Both Fox and Gallien agree that the parting was amicable.

“I made the decision before it was bitter,” Gallien said. “Some people hang on to things too long. I felt the timing of it was good.”

Gallien will be replaced by North Hollywood’s Pat Puccinelli, who worked as an assistant last season.

New life: Even though Gallien no longer is involved with Pepperdine, his days of stalking the court are far from over. He recently was named pro at the prestigious Los Angeles Tennis Club.

“It’s really a neat place,” Gallien said. “There’s a lot of heritage there.”

Interestingly, Fox, a former touring pro and Davis Cup team member, posted his most impressive tournament victory at the club.

On his way to winning the 1966 Pacific Southwest championship, Fox executed a mini-Grand Slam of sorts. He defeated that year’s winners of Wimbledon (Manuel Santana of Spain), the French Open (Tony Roche of Australia), the U. S. Open (Fred Stolle of Australia) and the Australian Open (Roy Emerson of Australia).

Tennis, everyone?: Many of those present at last week’s Volvo/Los Angeles tournament got their first glimpse of wheelchair tennis, rapidly gaining popularity with the physically challenged. The sport basically adheres to the rules of tennis, although players are allowed two bounces, not one, before a return.

For the first time, wheelchair athletes have been integrated into a tennis camp. Tony Lara of Chino and Axel Lopez of Santa Ana, both wheelchair-bound, have participated in this week’s Adidas Tennis Camp at UC Irvine.

Ingrid Cleffi-Hayes, a therapeutic recreation specialist from Simi Valley, is planning a wheelchair tennis clinic next month at Oakridge Health Club in Simi Valley.

Information: 805-581-2897.

Volvo playoffs: Several local teams will participate in the USTA/Volvo Tennis League sectional championships, which will be held Aug. 17-19 at Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley.

The tournament will include a total of 56 teams from Santa Barbara to San Diego, from West Los Angeles to Palm Springs. Men’s and women’s titles in the 2.5 though 5.0 divisions will be contested. The categories are based on the National Tennis Rating Program scale in which a beginner is a 1.0 and a touring pro is a 7.0.

Winning teams in each category will advance to the national championships held in October at various locations.

Local teams competing include Ojai (3.0 women), Westlake Tennis and Swim (3.5 women), Camino Strings in Ventura (4.0 women), Sunset Hills Country Club (4.5 women), Westlake Tennis and Swim (5.0 women), Ventura (3.5 men), Sunset Hills Country Club (4.0 men), Cabrillo Racquet Club (4.5 men) and Malibu (5.0 men).