Mann, Varvais Have Much in Common

Taft High’s Dylan Mann and Royal’s Nick Varvais have never met in a high school tennis match because they play in different sections.

Still, they are very familiar opponents on a tennis court, and today The Times’ Valley region co-players of the year will square off in a practice match at Rancho Simi Community Park in Simi Valley.

“Nick and I are good friends and we practice with each other almost every week,” Mann said.

Who will win? Flip a coin.

Mann and Varvais are virtual equals. They are seeded eighth and ninth, respectively, by the Southern California Tennis Assn. in boys’ 18-and-under singles. And both were highly recruited.

Varvais, a powerful baseline player and the only four-time player of the year in the Marmonte League, has a scholarship to UC Irvine. As a freshman and sophomore at Westlake, Varvais posted a remarkable record of 148-2 in sets in league play. He was 39-0 this year.

Varvais reached the semifinals of the Southern Section singles tournament this year, losing to eventual champion Taylor Dent of Corona del Mar, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Earlier, he led Royal to a Marmonte co-championship with Camarillo.

“The highlight for me was us beating Camarillo to get that tie for first,” Varvais said. “I won it as a freshman, and I wanted to do it my senior year.”

Mann, a serve-and-volley specialist, is headed to Florida after compiling a record of 51-2 in matches over three years.

He was by far the best player in the Northwest Valley Conference each year, winning all of his matches in straight sets, and he led Taft to the City Section 4-A Division championship in 1994.

This year, Mann was 17-1 in matches, 8-0 in playoff sets.

Most top-ranked junior players choose not to compete for their high school team because the level of competition is much lower. But Mann and Varvais decided to give it a try.

“I just wanted to see what it was like at first,” Mann said. “It was a lot of fun. I got a lot more into the team aspect than I thought I would. I met a lot of people who were fun to be with.”

Mann’s losses both came in section singles finals. In 1994, he lost in three sets to Dorsey’s Robert Williams. Mann avenged the loss to Williams in the semifinals this season before losing to Marshall’s Noah Newman, 6-1, 6-3.