Dynasty Challenged

Palos Verdes, Miraleste and Rolling Hills high schools, all situated on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, were merged into one school in 1991 mainly because of declining enrollments.

In the process, a girls’ tennis dynasty was born.

In six-plus years, Peninsula High has won six consecutive Southern Section championships and compiled a 161-5 record.

Anything less than a Division I title, it seems, is unimaginable.

“When the schedule was released for this year, the first thing I looked for was which day the finals were being played,” said senior Hanna Miller, a member of the last three championship teams.

But the road to a seventh consecutive title will be tougher than usual.

Peninsula (21-2), seeded second in the tournament, will host No. 3 Woodbridge today. Earlier this season, Peninsula defeated the Warriors by two points. If Peninsula reaches Monday’s finals at the Claremont Club, the Panthers probably will face top-seeded Corona del Mar, which defeated them in September.

That loss, along with a September defeat by Dana Hills, makes this season slightly different than those of the past.

Peninsula went undefeated from 1991-95, winning an unprecedented 120 consecutive matches and five team titles. Panther players also won three singles championships and three doubles titles.

During that time, the school produced two players that competed in the main draw of the U.S. Open--Nicole London in 1992 and Janet Lee in 1993--three players who made the national team and five high school All-Americans.

This year’s team has no standouts. None of the players was ranked higher than 23rd in singles in 1996 in any of the Southern California Tennis Assn. age groups.

“Obviously, we’re not as strong as we were in the past; those teams were a phenomenon,” Peninsula co-coach Tom Cox said.

Last season, Newport Harbor ended Peninsula’s five-year unbeaten streak. The Panthers have lost, by Peninsula’s standards, an astounding five matches in the last two years.

Still, to almost all other programs, this year’s Peninsula team is a juggernaut.

“We don’t have a lot of overpowering players, but we have a lot of depth from top to bottom,” said Jim Hanson, who shares coaching duties with Cox. “But this team has a lot of spirit and doesn’t want to be the first Peninsula team not to win the championship.”

Peninsula’s success is not surprising. After all, this is a region that produced Pete Sampras and Tracy Austin, among others. Cox calls it a “tennis mecca.”

Before the school opened, Miraleste and Palos Verdes were perennial powers and Rolling Hills wasn’t far behind. Miraleste and Palos Verdes had won seven of nine major division titles since 1982 and met in the major division finals five times. Hanson coached at Miraleste, Cox at Rolling Hills.

“We were always three of the top four teams in CIF,” Hanson said.

Peninsula has 57 girls on the varsity, junior varsity and frosh-soph teams. Hanson said the explanation for success is simple:

* Parents in the area can afford players’ lessons.

* There are five tennis clubs less than 10 miles from the school.

* Many parents played competitive or recreational tennis.

* Peers and friends are playing tennis at a young age, creating a climate for participation.

This year’s team is led by seniors Miller, Jane Kim, Elizabeth Lee, Emily Cohen and Karen Lee. And the success is likely to continue with two juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen on the roster.

The Panthers are two victories from their seventh consecutive title--”seventh heaven” as Cox called it. The Panthers know it won’t be easy.

“Everybody is always gunning for us,” Miller said. “They would love to take our title.”