This Dynamic Duo Proves Unbeatable on Tennis Court

Jonni Seymour and Darian Chappell are reunited . . . and, yeah, it does feel so good.

It’s good for Seymour, a freshman experiencing her first taste of college life and the challenge of competing on a team after a long-and-sometimes-lonely run up the junior tennis rankings. For Chappell, a sophomore who now has a best friend for a roommate and a killer doubles partner. And most of all for Mike Edles, the UC Irvine women’s tennis coach who has a doubles team that was ranked No. 1 in the 16s and 18s in Southern California and a singles player--Seymour--ranked 91st in the nation by Intercollegiate Tennis Assn.

And these two are some match.

Chappell is right-handed; Seymour left-handed. Chappell burns on the inside; Seymour gets code violations for yelling, ‘I suck!’ after missing a shot. Chappell does a lot of the talking; Seymour picks her spots for clever one-liners. And both have an attacking, all-court style that is effective and at times intimidating.

Better yet, there are none of the usual roommate arguments over food missing from the fridge. Seymour doesn’t touch Chappell’s alfalfa sprouts and Chappell stays away from Seymour’s Oreo’s.

“I don’t even have to worry about her drinking my milk,” Seymour said, smiling. “I drink 2%, instead of skim. Isn’t that terrible?”

The union began when they were 14, after Chappell’s mom, the former Annette Broersma, who played tennis at Irvine in 1974, saw Seymour play and thought she would be a good doubles partner for her daughter.

“So I called Jonni and we got together,” Chappell said. “We pretty much clicked right away.”

Chappell, who was the ninth-ranked singles player in Southern California juniors as a senior at Camarillo High, said her mom and dad, Bob Chappell, an NCAA Division II doubles champion in 1973-74 as an Anteater, had surprisingly little influence on her decision to enroll at their alma mater.

“They left it totally up to me, but Irvine was the right fit,” she said. “It was a combination of the education, the coaching and the fact it’s the perfect distance from home.”

Chappell had an immediate impact on the program. She was the first Anteater freshman to earn first-team All-Big West honors and was only the second first-team selection in school history. And she all but guaranteed that Seymour would follow.

“As juniors, we always said we would go to college together,” said Seymour, who was ranked No. 6 among Southland juniors last year at Bakersfield Highland High. “I was also looking at Vanderbilt, Illinois and Alabama, but I really like it here.”

Besides immediately forming one of the conference’s most formidable doubles teams, Chappell and Seymour give the Anteaters quite the 1-2--or maybe 2-1--punch in singles.

For the time being, Chappell is Irvine’s No. 1 singles player. “She proved she deserved that spot last year,” Edles says. But that could change. The last time the two played singles against each other in a tournament, Seymour coasted, 6-1, 6-0, to the championship of the Cal State Fullerton Fall Women’s Tennis Tournament.

Chappell: “No comment.”

A red-faced Seymour: “Uh, it wasn’t Darian’s best day. And she was hurt, too.”

The pain of that foot bruise is gone. The sting of being whacked by one of her best friends might last awhile.

“The competition between them is very healthy,” Edles said. “This is great for them and great for the team. The only way you can get close to reaching your potential is to be pushed and it’s best if you’re pushed on a daily basis.”

Both players are the antithesis of the baseline-huggers who are so prevalent in the junior ranks and college level in women’s tennis. Chappell relies on a superb return of serve to take charge of points and attack the net where she can win points with solid volleying. Seymour, one of the few collegiate women players who employs a one-handed backhand, has a huge forehand and an explosive all-court game.

“It’s pretty intimidating when Darian’s smacking your serve back at you faster than it went over the net,” Edles said. “She uses her return game to put her opponents on the defensive and then she attacks.

“Jonni is really exciting to watch. She’s one of those players who can really take charge of a point and she has a great transition game that gets her to net. And she’s left-handed, which is a big advantage.”

Chappell, with all that practice time across from Seymour, is a little more used to playing a left-hander than the average player, but that doesn’t mean she likes chasing those wide serves to her backhand. And Seymour, too, understands what her opponents are going through. “I hate playing left-handers,” she said.

Edles is hoping a lot of Irvine’s opponents will share that sentiment the next four years.

HEALTHY SCHOLARSHIPS

Proponents of a student referendum to raise money for athletic scholarships are attempting to link it with another proposal on the ballot that would give undergraduate students health insurance, according to Sasha Strauss, a member of the associated students of UCI council.

“This way, we’ll be working together instead of working against each other,” said Strauss, who is pushing for the scholarship referendum.

Students will likely vote on the measure this spring. If passed, it could raise up to $600,000 for scholarships.

SEASON BREAKER

Anteater center Stan Divranos had known there was something wrong since October and he suspected it was a little more serious than a strained ligament in his back. Tests on Thursday revealed a stress fracture in a vertebra of his lower back. The fracture, along with the ligament strain, severely limited his mobility and ended his basketball season.

Divranos already used a redshirt season at Central Michigan two years ago, but Irvine officials might petition the NCAA in an attempt to get Divranos a medical redshirt season.

“If it was up to me, I’d try to play right now,” Divranos said. “Unless they come up with something, that’s not going to be possible.”

TAKING A FLIER

Nothing can make you reevaluate your career like being smoked by Quincy Watts.

Will Stolpe, who was a sprinter at Irvine from 1986 to ‘91, managed to catch a glimpse of Watts in a 100-meter race in 1994 and made a career decision.

He headed for the hills. OK, the mountains.

“Watts did win an Olympic gold medal [in the 400 meters in 1992], but getting beat like that was getting old,” said Stolpe, an Anteater assistant track coach. “There were people handing out fliers that day to take the physical test for the United States bobsled teams. It was perfect timing.”

Stolpe is now with the national bobsled team as a member of the USA Three squad. He competed in a two-man event in Park City, Utah, over the weekend.

“I did really well on the physical test,” he said. “Willie Gault and Edwin Moses were both in it and I scored higher. Edwin was really mad because he used to beat me all the time on the track.”

When not sliding down a mountain, Stolpe coaches the field events for Irvine. He was the track coach at Corona del Mar High for nine years before returning to Irvine this fall to complete his degree.