TENNIS / DANA HADDAD : Tandem Out to Serve Notice on Mini-Tour

Kirsten Gross and Shera Wiegler might be playing the best tennis of their lives right now, and they want the country to see.

The Calabasas High seniors have packed their suitcases, restrung their rackets and embarked on their own mini-tour of big tournaments in the South and Midwest.

The high school teammates who reached the Southern California sectional final in 18-and-under doubles nearly two weeks ago plan to play in three national invitationals in the coming weeks: the Southern Open in Louisville, Ky.; the national clay-court championships in Memphis, Tenn.; and the Western Open in Columbus, Ind.

If they meet their primary objective, Gross and Wiegler could make their classmates more than envious this fall should they be asked: What did you do during your summer vacation?

At the very least, Gross and Wiegler will see a big chunk of the country for the first time. But should they play well, they could come home with scholarships.

It sure beats the alternative: staying home, training and writing more letters to college coaches. The two already have corresponded with dozens of coaches, who now will have an opportunity to see them in action.

“Basically, the whole purpose is to get noticed by coaches,” Wiegler said. “After July 1, we get to start talking to them.”

In a sense, the girls are pulling out all stops.

Despite their success in doubles, Gross and Wiegler easily could be overlooked in talent-rich Southern California. Coaches from the East, South and Midwest rarely travel here. Instead, they comb the Southern California Tennis Assn. suggested seedings chart for talent.

Gross and Wiegler don’t figure prominently in those seedings. Wiegler is currently seeded 30th in 18s, Gross 33rd. But coming from the nation’s strongest section in junior tennis, they could figure prominently in Louisville, Memphis and Columbus--enough to attract offer sheets.

Gross said she knows three players who last year faced similar circumstances. After some eastern barnstorming, one of them landed a scholarship to Syracuse.

“I’m looking forward to this,” Gross said. “I’ve never done anything like it.”

Gross, 17, and Wiegler, 16, earned recognition last year by playing in the national 16-and-under tournament in San Diego.

But because they did not qualify for the United States Tennis Assn. national championships in 18s--not even in doubles--the two decided on the long trip.

Gross and Wiegler were not granted automatic berths in the national clay-court event, to which only the top 128 singles players are invited.

But Jim Hillman, the SCTA director of junior tennis, said the two have an excellent chance of gaining at-large berths in the event, which is July 16-22 in Memphis. For one, Gross and Wiegler are the top two alternates among the dozen players who were endorsed for the tournament by the powerful local section. Second, many players withdraw from the clay event to train for the hard-court championships in August.

“I’d say they have a very good chance of getting in,” Hillman said, “because they usually take all 12 of our players.”

Gross and Wiegler also hope they can improve their national seedings.

The two will fly round-trip to Louisville and drive to and from the other cities in the near monthlong trek. Their mothers, Mary Gross and Deanna Wiegler, each will chaperon half of the trip for the two girls who have known each other since fourth grade.

“They’ve played soccer together, they were on the same softball team,” Deanna Wiegler said. “They’re good friends, but at school they have separate groups of friends. I think it’s good that way. Otherwise, they’d drive each other nuts.”

Kirsten credits her mother with coming up with the idea, but Mary Gross said she is simply following the advice of Kirsten’s coach, Pat Puccinelli.

“He said, ‘Get her in as many tournaments this summer as you can,’ ” Mary Gross said. “I’m hoping they win the Southern Open in doubles. If they do, we’ll fax the results in to the [SCTA] to see if we can get into [USTA] nationals somehow.”

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Player to watch: Sri Shamasunder of West Hills didn’t reach the main draw of the Southern California sectional, the most-important tournament of the year for local juniors. In fact, he didn’t get past the second round of qualifying in the boys’ 18 division.

But there was a good reason.

Shamasunder, 16, was pitted against and lost to eventual champion Geoff Abrams of Newport Beach, 6-1, 6-2. Until recently, Abrams had been a member of the U.S. junior national team.

Abrams was playing the qualifier only because he now lives and trains at a tennis academy in Florida and was not seeded in Southern California. Call it bad luck for Shamasunder, who was 15-4 while playing for El Camino Real High last spring.

Shamasunder could be on the verge of a breakthrough, however. He pushed Nick Varvais of Simi Valley in the Ojai Valley championships, losing, 6-4, 6-3. Varvais finished fifth in the sectional.

Shamasunder is the only Valley player among those from City Section schools to win a set against Dylan Mann of Taft. He did it in 1994, the year Mann lost in the City final.

This year, Mann won the junior sectional title in 18 doubles.