TENNIS / DANA HADDAD : Bleszynski Prepares for Festival Heat

Ask Ania Bleszynski about her experience playing in the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival and prepare for an unexpected response.

There will be no mention of the two bronze medals she won last summer in San Antonio, Tex. Instead, she will discuss the bad food, hot weather, tight scheduling and lack of sleep.

She was 16, and like most teen-agers, Bleszynski probably would have preferred lying around the pool that week in July.

But when the United States Tennis Assn. and the U.S. Olympic Committee recently invited the Thousand Oaks resident to return for the 1995 Festival in St. Louis July 1-6, she gladly accepted.

Bleszynski appreciated the honor, knowing that only the top 16 girls in the nation not playing on the Junior National team receive invitations.

“It’s a neat tournament,” Bleszynski said. “I just hope it turns out better. We had three matches a day last year. It was hot. We all had to get up at 6:30 in the morning every day.”

Bleszynski, the top-seeded girls’ 18-and-under singles player in Southern California, earned bronze medals in women’s doubles and mixed doubles last year. But she might have fared better had she not been so fatigued.

“I’m still upset that I let the heat and stuff distract me,” she said. “The whole arrangement was weird. Those were minor things (that I couldn’t control). If I can’t control those things this year, I won’t let it get to me like I did last year.”

Bleszynski will travel to St. Louis with close friend Philip Tseng. Both are seniors at Harvard-Westlake High. Bleszynski is headed to Stanford and Tseng to Harvard next fall. Like Bleszynski, Tseng is one of Southern California’s top 18-and-under players.

When Tseng learned he had been selected to the South team for the Olympic Festival, he called Bleszynski, who will play for the West squad.

“She’s preparing me for what I should bring and what I should do and not do,” Tseng said. “I’ll bring a camera and I’ll bring back lots of souvenirs.

“I’m honored. A lot of young athletes want to go and only one or two get to come out of each section of the country. I’m looking forward to the opening ceremonies and seeing other events like baseball, basketball and track--the top athletes in other sports.”

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A leg down: Tseng is seeded No. 4 by the Southern California Tennis Assn. By rights he should be No. 1.

He finished 1993 ranked second behind Eric Lin, who has turned 19.

But Tseng has been derailed by a broken leg suffered in a spring vacation skiing accident. He returned to the court 2 1/2 weeks ago and is trying to regain his form not only for the festival but for next week’s Southern California Sectional tournament in Orange County.

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Players to watch: The following players are seeded among the top eight in their respective divisions in the Southern California Sectional, which starts Friday with qualifying rounds.

Boys’ 18s: No. 3--Tseng, who moved up from No. 4 when Carlos Sarmiento of Newport Beach was disqualified because he is not a U.S. citizen.

Girls’ 18s: No. 1--Bleszynski; No. 2--Krissy Hamilton (Agoura Hills).

Boys’ 16s: No. 2--Nick Varsais (Simi Valley); No. 3--Dylan Mann (Canoga Park).

Girls’ 16s: No. 5--Jessica Kessler (Studio City); No. 6--Kirsten Gross (Calabasas).

Boys’ 14s: No. 8--Michael Marquez (Ventura).

Boys’ 12s: No. 4--Travis Rettenmaier (Camarillo); No. 8--Michael Sperry (Westlake).

Girls’ 12s: No. 2--Maureen Diaz (Glendale).

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Playing abroad: Mike and Bob Bryan of Camarillo have reached the second and third round, respectively, in boys’ 16 singles at an international juniors tournament in Milan, Italy, this week.

Last week in Toren, Italy, the twins each lost in the second round of singles play. In doubles last week, Mike Bryan, playing with Kevin Kim of Fullerton, advanced to the semifinals and Bob Bryan, playing with Keith Brill of Columbia, S.C., reached the quarterfinals before losing.

Also playing in Toren was Erin Boisclair of Agoura Hills, who reached the semifinals of the girls’ 16 division. Boisclair and the Bryans will miss the Southern California Sectional because they will play in Labaule, France, next week. But all three will get wild-card berths in USTA National events this summer.