Needham Has Put Her Game Into Focus : Tennis: Better concentration has helped her improve and lead Santa Margarita to a share of first in Sea View League.

Sandy Needham, the No. 1 singles player on the Santa Margarita girls’ tennis team, didn’t attend summer school. But she still learned some valuable lessons.

“I played in a lot of junior tournaments over the summer,” Needham said. “I learned that if you want to win, you have to work hard on all the points. You can’t relax.”

Nobody who faces Needham this season can afford to do that.

All season, she has been the backbone of the resurgent Eagles, who are 13-2 and 8-1 in the Sea View League after finishing third in the Angelus League last year. Their only two losses were against El Toro in a nonleague match and against Corona del Mar, 10-8, in a league match Sept. 22.

Needham’s leadership was evident again last week, when she helped Santa Margarita avenge the loss to Corona del Mar by winning her three sets in a 12-6 victory over the Sea Kings. The teams now share first place in the league standings with five matches remaining.

One of Needham’s victories was against Marcie Asch, Corona del Mar’s top singles player, who had won their previous meeting, 6-4. This time, Needham won, 7-6 (7-2), by rallying from a 2-4 deficit. She turned the tables on Asch with aggressive play in the clutch.

“I got really nervous at the end in my (first) match with Marcie,” said Needham, who has played at No. 1 singles at Santa Margarita for four seasons. “I was playing kind of tentative (in the last match) for a while and it just wasn’t working, so I just went after it.”

That is Needham’s newly developed style, one that combines a sound technical game with a tougher mental approach. With a 39-3 record, Needham already has three more victories than last season and figures to win a few more. Her success has impressed Eagle Coach Mary Woodward.

“She wasn’t fine-tuned last year,” Woodward said. “This year, she has a nice, well-rounded game. She’s much more determined.”

The on-court metamorphosis came, Needham said, when she realized her concentration needed refinement if she was to become an impact player.

“I’ve become more focused,” said Needham, who had a 4.23 grade-point average last year. “My personality is more of a daydreamer. My mind was constantly wandering off when I was on the court. I’d look to the sidelines and wave to my friends. Now I try to put all those things aside.”

About six years ago, when she was 11, Needham put aside competitive swimming to play tennis but said she has been serious about the sport only the past three years. Everyone in her family, including her brother, four sisters and parents, likes to play tennis. But it was her father, Jim, a civil engineer, who got her started.

“My dad has a major role in my playing,” Needham said. “When I was little, he essentially taught me how to play. He comes to every match, no matter how far it is. I could be playing in Egypt and he would come. He’s my idol.”

Just as Needham looks up to her father, Woodward said other Santa Margarita players know they’ll be supported by the team’s stellar performer.

“She (Needham) doesn’t lead in a boisterous way, but in a very quiet way,” Woodward said. “She’s always encouraging the other girls. She’ll watch her teammates when she has a break during matches and she leads in terms of how she plays. . . . She’s an all-around super young lady.”

Needham’s bubbly personality might not fit the traditional mold of a gong-ho caudillo, but it might be the quality that makes her an effective role model on the team. That and her concern about her teammates.

“I try to be (a leader),” Needham said. “I feel I should do my part. Not just on the court but off the court. Tennis is not everything for the girls on the team. The girls really care about each other and try to help each other with personal problems, schoolwork. That’s helped us grow as a team.”

Needham wants to attend college and perhaps pursue a business degree. She doesn’t know if she’ll get to compete in tennis at that level but won’t be emotionally crushed if she doesn’t.

“I’d love to play in college,” she said. “Tennis is important to me, but not the major focal point in my life. I’ll see what happens.”

Sounds as if she’s learned her lessons well.