Top Players Leave CIF Tournament Out in The Cold : Tennis: High school programs are being snubbed in favor of private coaches.

What if the CIF put on a tennis tournament and none of the top players decided to show up?

The idea isn’t absurd. The San Diego Section girls’ individual singles championships will begin Monday at Kit Carson Park without six of county’s premier players in the draw, including defending champion Nikki Willette of Serra and 1989 runner-up Brooke Galardi of Bishop’s.

Of the top players from last year’s tournament, only seniors LeeAnn Rostovsky and Lynn Coakley of La Jolla and Krista Kuechler of Torrey Pines are returning. There are a variety of reasons for the players’ sudden disenchantment with high school tennis, but the prevailing one seems to be a lack of adequate competition.

Willette played some high school tennis this season, but a nagging shoulder injury has forced her out of the tournament. Galardi, Mission Bay’s Suzy Drage and Poway’s Sasha Boros are physically able to play, but they informed their high school coaches that they would not have the time to compete this year.

Bill Scott, The Bishop’s School coach, said Galardi informed him a day after school began that she would not play for Bishop’s this year. Scott said he was upset with Galardi’s choice, but he chose not to comment on the reasons behind Galardi’s decision.

Curt Condon, Galardi’s private coach at the Vista Tennis Club, said high school tennis didn’t fit into the plans that her parents had laid out for her.

“She and her parents have designed a plan to further her development,” Condon said. “She’s looking to play some satellites and national junior tournaments. It would be difficult for her to play high school tennis along with those other things.”

Many high school coaches are upset with the trend. They say coaches at private clubs are discouraging players from competing on the high school level.

“It’s an interesting phenomena,” Torrey Pines Coach Anne Meigs said. “They are in workout programs and they are told that high school tennis doesn’t do much for you. They probably feel that time spent at the high school is time away from improving their game. But to the high school coach, it’s disappointing and it’s hard not to take personally.”

Although his student, Galardi, has chosen not to compete in high school, Condon said going that route isn’t for everyone.

“It’s one of the few times you get to play in a team atmosphere,” said Condon, who works with Galardi twice a week. “It’s relaxed. You don’t need to win as badly as you do in the juniors. High school tennis should be a positive time for kids. I really didn’t advise Brooke not to play in high school. The decision was already made by herself and her parents.”

In some extreme cases, Meigs said, she could understand a player’s reasons for leaving her high school program.

“If you had a national champion like a Tracey Austin or Jennifer Capriati, I can see it,” Meigs said. “But I don’t think Brooke Galardi or Sasha Boros have established themselves to be that type of player.”

Condon said Galardi, ranked 12th in Southern California in the girls’ 16s, has tremendous potential, but she also has a lot to prove.

By comparison, Orange County has three of the top junior tennis players in the country--Janet Lee, ranked first in the 14s; Nicole London, ranked second in the 16s; and Keri Phebus, ranked first in the 18s--and they are all playing high school tennis this season.

Rostovsky, ranked No. 1 in Southern California in the girls’ 16s, said Galardi, Boros and Drage are her friends, and she understands why they might not want to play in high school. But she said the benefits of playing for your school outweigh the negatives.

“You’re only in high school once, and you can only play for your team once,” said Rostovsky, who is being recruited by USC, UCLA, Arizona and Cal. “Also, it’s fun being a part of the team and having a lot of close friends. Representing and helping out your school is something I feel good about.”

Torrey Pines freshman Betsy Miringoff, who is seeded sixth in the singles draw, said she welcomes the opportunity to participate for her school team.

“I think it’s going to help me now, when I play for my team in college,” Miringoff said. “There just aren’t that many opportunities to play for a team. It’s nice to be able to do something in school too.”

Meigs, whose team went undefeated and advanced to the semifinals Wednesday with a 13-5 victory over Mira Mesa, conceded the competition at the high school level is not comparable to junior tennis. But Meigs said that is not a good enough reason to spurn your school.

“It’s true that high school tennis is not going to do a lot much for some of these kids,” Meigs said. “But it’s also good that they can take a sport that they can excel in and give something back to the school. I think high school tennis is a marvelous opportunity to try different things with your game, and it’s a marvelous experience. You also play only one set against each opponent, so you have to adapt your game pretty quickly if things aren’t working.”

Meigs said she has nothing against her players working with their private coaches during the high school season. In fact, she said, she encourages most of her players to participate in Woody Blocker and Lee Merry’s tennis clinic at Canyon Hills Racquet Club in Escondido.

“I’ve always felt it was a good idea for kids to participate in workouts, but they also have to contribute to our program,” Meigs said.

But the scheduling conflict seems to be a major roadblock for some players and coaches. Some high school coaches are not as lenient as Meigs and demand more of a player’s time. Thus, pushing the player away from the school program and toward the private coach.

And then there are the players deemed so extraordinary by their parents that they don’t attend regular high school. Ingrid Kurta lives in the Grossmont High School district, instead she participates Mt. Miguel’s home studies program. But even if she attended Grossmont, Kurta said she would not play for the team.

“(High school tennis) takes a lot of time, and they are not as good as I thought,” said Kurta, ranked sixth in Southern California in the girls’ 18s. “They wouldn’t give me the practice competition that I need. I practice against pros and players on the satellite tour.”

But Kurta said she does miss some aspects of high school tennis.

“I miss the excitement you get from people coming and watching you, and I miss helping my school,” she said.

Kurta, who has one year of high school remaining, said she probably won’t play next year either.

“I’ll probably either want to turn pro next year or go to college,” Kurta said.

Ditta Huber, ranked No. 1 nationally in the girls’ 16s, probably would be the singles tournament’s top seed, but she attends a private Christian school that is not a member of the CIF.

So what kind of tournament will it be without Willete, Kurta, Huber, Galardi, Boros and Drage?

Imagine the U.S. Open Championships without Navratilova, Sabatini, Seles, Graf and Garrison.