GIRLS’ TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS : Monte Vista’s Rooks Gives San Pasqual’s Byrd Runaround to Win Title

A carefree, almost apathetic Vanessa Rooks of Monte Vista High won the girls’ San Diego Section individual singles finals by thrashing San Pasqual’s Tami Byrd, 6-2, 6-2, Friday at Rancho Arbolitos.

“I just came out here to have fun,” Rooks said. “It’s not that big of a deal to me. I don’t care that much. It’s high school. I’m just out to have fun.”

Hard to tell, the way Rooks looked and performed. She played every point as if it was match point at the U.S. Open, and her grunts were definitely up to Monica Seles’ standards.

Rooks, the tournament’s fourth seed, jumped on Byrd, seeded third, early and never let her get comfortable. She broke Byrd’s first two service games by running Byrd all over the court, then hitting backhand winners behind her.

Byrd, who has signed a letter of intent to play tennis at Arizona, said she never knew what hit her.

“I was just flat,” she said. “I couldn’t get my feet going. By the time I got started, the point was over. It was unreal.”

Unreal was the number of times Byrd left the baseline. One.

To counter Rooks’ strong baseline game, Byrd said she needed to come to the net. But her only trip there resulted in a pushed forehand volley into the net.

“I should have been up there so many times,” Byrd said. “My feet just wouldn’t move.”

Rooks said she wasn’t about to try coming to the net herself.

“Maybe I’ll serve and volley once in a while in practice, but I don’t know if I’ll do in a match.”

After Rooks led 3-2 in the first set, she ran off three consecutive games to take the set. The second set was more of the same. Rooks hitting rockets, while Byrd languished on the baseline.

“I wasn’t that easy,” Rooks said. “I played so intense each point. I didn’t let anything bother me.”

Only a junior, Rooks said she will come back and try to win another meaningless CIF title.

“It’d be nice to win two in a row,” she said. “I probably won’t win next year. I’m surprised I won this year.”

There was no suprrise that Erin Bohrnstedt and Allison McNellis won the doubles title, their second in a row. Bohrnstedt and McNellis of Torrey Pines defeated their teammates Kelly and Kristen McCracken, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), for the second year in a row.

The McCrackens blew 3-1 and 4-1 leads in the first and second sets.

“We played really streaky,” Kelly McCracken said. “I don’t know what it was.”

Maybe it had something to do with the experience of Bohrnstedt and McNellis, who became only the second doubles team to repeat as champions.

“They’ve played a really long time with each other,” Kelly McCracken said.

It showed.