PREP TENNIS ROUNDUP : Sunny Hills Duo Doubles Its Pleasure

Joseph Gilbert and David Robbins of Sunny Hills got a preview of the Southern Section singles tennis draw last month at the Ojai tournament. Even though they both played well at Ojai, Gilbert and Robbins didn’t like what they saw.

So they teamed up for the first time and decided the route to a section title might be a little smoother through the doubles tournament.

So far, it has been pretty smooth. Gilbert and Robbins defeated Sonora’s Brennan Price and Robby Thuman, 6-1, 6-1, in the Freeway League doubles final Tuesday at the Sunny Hills Racquet Club. In their four victories, Gilbert and Robbins gave up only three games.

“We both thought about it and we figured we could win the CIF in doubles,” said Robbins, who reached the semifinals of the interscholastic singles draw at Ojai. “I have a lot of fun playing doubles.”

Robbins, a senior, said he wouldn’t have had much fun playing someone like Santa Barbara’s Alex Decret, who probably will be top-seeded in singles.

“That’s who I’m trying to avoid,” Robbins said.

Gilbert, a freshman, lost to Newport Harbor’s Geoff Abrams in the boys’ 16 finals at Ojai.

Robbins’ departure from the singles tournament left Sunny Hills’ Kevin Kim as the league tournament’s top-seeded player. Kim defeated teammate Danny Lee, 6-3, 6-3, in the finals. Kim and Lee will advance to the section individual singles tournament, which begins May 22.

In the Pacific Coast League finals at Trabuco Hills:

Zajfen wins--Julian Zajfen of Laguna Beach defeated Laguna Hills’ Chris Marshall, 6-0, 6-1, to win his second league singles title in three years. In the doubles final, Nolan Cooper and Bryan Johnson defeated their Trabuco Hills teammates, Conrad Taylor and Pat Steele, 6-1, 6-3.