Weiss Enjoys Transition

Nick Weiss of Calabasas continued his unusually smooth transition from the 14-and-under division to under-16s Friday by advancing to the quarterfinals.

The third-seeded Weiss beat No. 6 Trent Brendon of Victorville, 6-4, 6-2, to set up today’s 1:30 match against No. 7 David Lingman.

Weiss, 15, the 1996 boys’ 14s champion, is not surprised at his success.

“The way I’m playing, I expected it,” he said. “I know I’m one of the best athletes out here. And that’s a big part of tennis. I can compete with all of the guys out here.”

Most players drop out of sight for a year to adjust to a new level of power, quickness and shot-making ability. Weiss has been sparring with the likes of U.S. Junior National team member Jose Lieberman and his older brother Jason Weiss, who is headed to Sacramento State on scholarship, to make the jump easier.

“I think I hit against the best ball I can,” he said. “And I’m learning how to win.”

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After he retired as a player and became a coach, Eliot Teltscher vowed not to tutor young kids.

Teltscher, who at one time was ranked No. 6 in the world and beat the likes of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, didn’t want to run a day-care center.

But a tiny 9-year-old from Glendale named Robert Yim became the exception to Teltscher’s rule. When he walked onto Teltscher’s court three years ago, the coach grudgingly gave him a tryout.

“I fed him some balls inside the baseline and he just about took my head off,” Teltscher said.

Yim was barely taller than his racket, but Teltscher took him on. Yim, all five feet of him, is 12 and competing in the 14s. He lost in Friday’s quarterfinals to third-seeded Derrick Bauer, 6-3, 7-5, but Yim’s No. 17 ranking is almost guaranteed to improve.

“He’s short,” Teltscher said. “There’s nothing you can do about it. But Michael Chang did it.”

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Cal Lutheran men’s Coach Mike Gennette has been a fixture at the junior championships. But Gennette is not recruiting, he’s coaching.

Gennette runs a grass-roots training program on campus. His stable is not large but includes such top high-school players as Jeff Linneman of Thousand Oaks and Tyrel Carson of Rio Mesa.

Gennette doesn’t have time to run a large program, but hopes to build it with quality.

“We’re called the Scrap Dog Tennis Academy,” he said. “Scrap Dog meaning a kid that’s going to fight for everything and never give up.”