Name From Past Makes Presence Felt

Among the first-round winners in the Boys 14-and-under division at Ojai was Stephen Amritraj of Calabasas, whose father and uncle have played some tennis themselves.

Amritraj is the 13-year-old son of Anand Amritraj and nephew of Vijay Amritraj, familiar faces on the professional circuit in the 1970s and ‘80s.

The younger Amritraj beat Dustin Ilic of Fresno, 6-1, 6-2, in his first match at Ojai.

“A lot of my friends played here last year,” he said. “They said it was big. They said it was a little like they thought Wimbledon would be.”

His father could only chuckle.

“Not quite, but it’s a very nice atmosphere here,” Anand Amritraj said. “It’s very cozy. That’s the word I could use for it. It’s the Wimbledon of Ventura County.”

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Speaking of Wimbledon, Anand Amritraj will play there in July, entering the 35-and-over doubles competition with Vijay.

Amritraj, who has lived in Calabasas since 1988, remains active as a professional, playing in master’s tournaments around the world.

“I keep as busy as I can,” he said.

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Ania Bleszynski’s troubles in singles continued. The All-American from Stanford, whose ranking has dropped to No. 51, suffered a second-round loss to Vicky Maes of Arizona, 6-0, 3-6, 6-1, after a three-set victory over Arizona State’s Katy Propstra in the Pacific 10 Conference tournament.

If all goes as planned, Bleszynski and Julie Green will get revenge in doubles. Bleszynski and Green are seeded No. 1 and will play in the first round today at 12:30 at the Ojai Valley Inn.

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Calabasas High alum Darren Miller was not especially surprised at his early departure from the singles draw of the Pac-10 Invitational at Ojai.

Miller, who lost, 6-3, 6-4, to Pepe Devercelli of Arizona, is a doubles specialist for UCLA.

“When I come out and play singles, it’s rough,” Miller said. “There are a lot of good players here. It’s the best competition around.”

Miller remains alive in the doubles draw with teammate Brandon Kramer. They have an 11 a.m. match today.

“Hopefully I’ll fare a little better in that,” he said.

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Calabasas freshman Nick Weiss had to scramble to reschedule an 8 a.m. Spanish exam this morning, because it was in direct conflict with his third-round match at The Thacher School in the boys’ interscholastic division.

Weiss’ older brother Jason, who plays for Pierce College, didn’t offer any encouragement.

“I had the same teacher and she hated me,” Jason said. “So that won’t help him.”

“Yeah, but Nicky’s got class,” said Calabasas Coach and Athletic Director Bob Holycross, who contacted the teacher and was able to postpone the exam.

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Washington’s Zuzana Stunova didn’t survive the first round of the Pac-10 championships, but the fact that she’s playing is quite an accomplishment.

Stunova (15-7) didn’t join the Huskies until January mid-year graduation from Rio Mesa High. But since then she’s jumped from No. 4 to 2 on the singles ladder.

“School is way harder and so is the level of tennis,” said Stunova, who lost to California’s Amanda Augustus, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2. “Everybody’s tough in this draw.”