Naturally, Patton Is Optimistic : TeamTennis: Dukes’ coach excited about chances of Newport Beach reaching the playoffs.

If this turns out to be his Orange County coaching farewell, and nothing’s for certain yet, Greg Patton is determined to lead the Newport Beach Dukes to the TeamTennis playoffs. Finally.

“The third time is the charm,” said Patton, who is back for his third season as the Dukes’ one-and-only (double meaning intended) coach.

At a press conference Wednesday, Patton didn’t rule out returning to coach the Dukes again next summer even though he has moved his hyperbolic shtick from UC Irvine to Boise State. There is one hitch, however. The Dukes haven’t made it to the TeamTennis playoffs in their two-year history and all concerned would desperately like to see a winner in Newport Beach in 1992.

“Well, we’ve got to make the playoffs first, right Fred?” Patton said, joking with owner/promoter Fred Lieberman.

In their debut season, the Dukes finished with a 7-7 record and were last in the four-team West Division. Nobody seemed to mind much because, after all, it was their first season and no one was predicting miracles.

Hampered by injury and a seemingly endless string of lineup changes in ‘91, the Dukes were 6-8 and finished in a three-way tie for third, which was as good as finishing last because that’s where the tiebreaking procedures put them.

It’s against this backdrop that the Dukes open the ’92 season with a match against the San Antonio Racquets at 7 p.m. tonight at the John Wayne Tennis Club in Newport Beach.

As usual, Patton couldn’t be more excited.

Of his men’s doubles team of Ronnie Bathman and Rikard Bergh (a former foe while playing at Cal State Long Beach) Patton gushed:

“They could be the top doubles team in the league. We’re going to have a lot of fun with the doubles. A lot of fun.”

Of Amy Frazier and Katrina Adams and the importance of winning the women’s doubles, Patton said:

“They either get you into the limo or you’re out on the highway hitchhiking. Katrina is a great competitor. There could be a bunch of sumo wrestlers telling her she can’t get past them and she would find a way. Amy is just inches from being one of the top 10 women in the world. And she just loves the team concept.”

Bad news, however, is that Frazier will miss tonight’s opener because of a prior commitment. But that’s better news than last season when she missed all but five of the Dukes’ 14 matches. Lise Gregory, a South African who was an All-American at the University of Miami, will fill in for Frazier tonight.

With or without Patton as coach, Frazier seems on the verge of supplanting Patton as the Dukes’ top attraction. Frazier, 19, reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon, knocking off seventh-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-3, 6-3, in the third round.

Tennis Notes

Dukes owner/promoter Fred Lieberman said he has arranged an exhibition match between Michael Chang and Pete Sampras for Oct. 1 at the Bren Center. Lieberman hopes it will be one in a number of exhibitions that will include such players as Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, John McEnroe and Monica Seles.

The TeamTennis lineup: Eastern Division--Atlanta Thunder, New Jersey Stars, Raleigh Edge, San Antonio Racquets, Tampa Bay Action; Western Division--Los Angeles Strings, Newport Beach Dukes, Phoenix Smash, Sacramento Capitals, Vail Eagles, Wichita Advantage.

The Dukes schedule: Tonight vs. San Antonio (featuring former UC Irvine standout Trevor Kronemann); Saturday at Sacramento; July 14 at Vail; July 16 vs. Atlanta (featuring Martina Navratilova); July 18 vs. Phoenix; July 20 at Raleigh; July 22 at New Jersey; July 24 vs. Sacramento; July 25 vs. Wichita; July 26 at Los Angeles; July 28 vs. Vail; July 31 vs. Los Angeles (featuring Jimmy Connors); Aug. 1 at Phoenix; Aug. 2 at Wichita.

All home matches are at 7 p.m. at the John Wayne Tennis Club.