OJAI TENNIS : USC’s Black, Stanford’s Unheralded De Silva Win Titles

They don’t look like heavyweights, but in the world of college tennis, they are.

And Wayne Black of USC proved he was the tougher competitor Sunday, winning the Pacific 10 Conference men’s singles championship in the Ojai Valley tournament.

Black, ranked second nationally, defeated fourth-ranked Sargis Sargsian of Arizona State, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to become the first Trojan Pac-10 singles champion since Robert Van’t Hof in 1980. Black, a 5-foot-7 junior, skipped USC’s 1992 fall season while he represented his native Zimbabwe in Davis Cup competition.

Sargsian, a 5-11 junior transfer from Yerevan, Armenia, advanced to the singles final of the National Intercollegiate Clay Court event in his first collegiate tournament last October.

In doing so, Sargsian scored his only victory over Black in five meetings. But all of their matches have been close, including Sunday’s.

Sargsian looked strong in winning the first set before Black decided to mix up his game by moving to the net, and took the second. Black then took control of the third set and held off his opponent to win the title.

Unlike the men’s, the Pac-10 women’s singles final was a battle of low-ranked players. And Sandra De Silva of Stanford, ranked 75th, broke tradition when she upset No. 32 Pam Nelson of California, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4, in the final.

All at once, De Silva earned a scholarship, a probable invitation to the NCAA singles tournament at Athens, Ga., next month, and a promotion. De Silva, a freshman, has played No. 6 singles for Stanford, going 21-0 in dual matches.

“That shows you what a lousy coach I am: I’ve got the Pac-10 champion at No. 6,” Stanford’s Frank Brennan said. “I don’t think I’m going to keep her at six after this.”

Brennan has had the luxury of playing De Silva at No. 6 because of the strength of his lineup, which includes top-ranked senior Laxmi Poruri, who was upset by Nelson in Saturday’s semifinals, 6-1, 6-3.

De Silva was not even entered in the conference singles draw until Wednesday, when an Arizona State player withdrew.

Still, De Silva is not unknown in tennis circles. In 1992, De Silva, from San Marino and who played for Pasadena Poly High, was top-ranked in Southern California and ninth-ranked in the nation in girls’ 18-and-under. She postponed college for a year to play professionally in 1993.