Camarillo Again Going to Chappell

Darian Chappell, a Camarillo High junior, peered through the chain-link fence surrounding the school’s tennis courts last September and sadly watched the Scorpions lose, 10-8, to league-rival Westlake.

The next day, Camarillo students and teachers approached Chappell wondering the same thing: after playing an integral role on the Scorpions’ unbeaten Marmonte League championship team in 1994, why wasn’t she playing?

Chappell, then the ninth-ranked 16-year-old in Southern California, grew tired of answering the questions. She chose to skip the high school season and work on her game with private coaches.

But she found she couldn’t stand watching her former team lose.

“I knew we could do better if I played,” Chappell said. “I also missed the team and the school-spirit aspect of tennis.”

So in this, her senior year, Chappell has decided to return to the Scorpions, instantly making herself a contender for the Southern Section individual title and catapulting Camarillo from Marmonte mediocrity to Southern Section sovereignty.

“Darian is in a different class than everyone in the league,” Camarillo Coach Frances Giffin said. “With her we’re much stronger all the way through. We have the strongest team in the league and we’re capable of winning [the Southern Section title].”

Chappell, 17, is ranked ninth in the Southern California Tennis Assn. 18-and-under division. She said she took her junior year off to improve her ranking and increase her chances of receiving a college scholarship. She added that she always planned to return for her senior year.

“College recruiters look at the results from your second year in [the 16-and-under age bracket] and the first year in [the 18-and-under bracket] heavily,” Chappell said. “I took the year off because I knew that high school tennis just isn’t as competitive as it would be at the clubs.”

So she drove as far as Bakersfield and Villa Park for private lessons, played in club tournaments at the Cabrillo and Calabassas racquet clubs and geared up for the junior circuit, attending Camarillo matches when she could.

“It was kind of sad watching them lose,” she said. “I was kind of bummed.”

But her strategy paid off. Chappell and doubles partner Jonni Seymour, the SCTA’s top-ranked team, won the Ojai doubles tournament and the Southern California sectional doubles tournament.

In singles she made the jump in age divisions and maintained her ranking, a rarity in junior tennis.

“Usually when you move up an age group you drop a lot,” Chappell said. “When I went from the 14s to the 16s my ranking dropped from two to 38.”

She has received numerous recruiting letters and has taken a trip to Iowa. She plans additional trips to Rice, San Diego State and the University of San Diego.

“[Taking the year off] was the right decision,” she said. “Everyone--my parents and coaches--all thought it was a good idea.”

“Except for the team,” she added with a smile.

With the worry of attracting college recruiters out of the way, Chappell can focus on helping the Scorpions improve on their disappointing 1995 season.

Chappell’s supporting cast includes Katie Messmer, who played No. 1 singles for the Scorpions last season, and Bettina Rettenmaier, who with father and Camarillo assistant coach Tom Rettenmaier recently defeated Chappell and her stepfather, Dan Burrows, in the father-daughter national grass court semifinals.

Also back is the No. 1 doubles team of Amie Hull and Melissa Feld, which posted a 50-1 set record last season.

New to the mix are freshmen Erin Jones and Jenny Underwood, SCTA-ranked players.

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AT A GLANCE

* THE PROVEN: Zuzana Stunova of Rio Mesa defends her Southern Section singles title armed with an improved serve. Westlake’s top three singles players, Helena Horak, Katy Smith and Erin Smith, had a combined 177-17 set record last season. La Reina returns eight starters, including doubles specialist Catherine Chein, from its two-time Division V champion team. Lindsy Forbess and Leila Nasseri make Harvard-Westlake a favorite to repeat as Mission League champion. Marmonte League individual finalist Jennifer Donahue of Agoura improved over the summer. Mission League champion Teresa Galido, a sophomore, leads an improved Chaminade squad. Karyl-lyn Sanderson leads City Section semifinalist Granada Hills. Jamie Horowitz heads nine returning starters for Kennedy, also a City semifinalist.

* THE PROMISING: Freshmen Erin Jones and Jenny Underwood add depth for Camarillo. Harvard-Westlake freshman Tricia Hom earned a place in the singles lineup. Freshman Kinsley Carnahan of Chaminade will make an immediate impact.

* FAST FACT: Westlake has won at least a share of the Marmonte League eight of the past nine years.