Bryans Decide a Spartan Existence Is for Them

There is an unwritten rule in tennis for highly ranked teen-age players warning them to stay away from their high-school courts.

So most ranked juniors choose not to compete for their schools, for fear their play will suffer against lower-caliber competition.

Mike and Bob Bryan have thumbed their noses at that edict.

The Bryan twins, 16, members of the United States Tennis Assn. Junior National boys’ 18-and-under team, will play on a limited basis for Rio Mesa High.

On Tuesday, the Bryans led the Spartans to an 11-7 victory over Channel League power Dos Pueblos by winning six sets by 6-0 scores.

“I asked them the other day, ‘Why do you want to do this?’ ” Rio Mesa Coach Steve Worthington said. “I think it was Mike who looked back and said, ‘It’s tennis.’ ”

The Bryans did not play for Rio Mesa last year, focusing on trying to earn a spot on the national team.

The Bryans, who carry grade-point averages of 4.2, have already played tournaments in Costa Rica, Venezuela, Palm Springs, Key Biscayne, Fla., Scottsdale, Ariz., and La Jolla this year, and have been away from school about as much as they have attended, said their father, Wayne Bryan.

Wayne Bryan, owner and teaching professional at Cabrillo Racquet Club near Camarillo, said he supports his sons’ decision to play for Rio Mesa, although he routinely advises top juniors otherwise.

“It’s a very tricky thing,” Wayne Bryan said. “We’ve had about 50 kids go on to the intercollegiate level since I’ve been at the club. Most of them did play in high school. But most of them, in my opinion, suffered during the season.

“This is not a knock on high-school tennis. But it’s best when you have a high-school coach that’s somewhat flexible with a star player.”

Worthington, who is a top-level player at the Cabrillo club and is a friend of the Bryan family, does not require the brothers to practice with the team and will let them play in as many or as few matches as they want. He didn’t even recruit them to play.

“We eat lunch together and play chess just about every day, but we don’t talk tennis,” Worthington said.

Bob had a 1994 year-end ranking of No. 3 in boys’ 16s singles. Mike was No. 4. As members of the seven-player national team, the Bryans will play in the junior French, U.S. and Italian Opens and the junior Wimbledon tournament this year.

But Worthington said the twins felt a responsibility to their school.

“You open their veins, they bleed red and black,” Worthington said. “They’re Spartans.”