Court Is Common Ground for Partners

OK, so the guy was being a little chippy. Chris Chung, UC Irvine tennis player, could accept that.

Chung and his doubles partner, Chris Ma, were just plain lucky--so this American University player kept saying. Fine, whatever, Chung thought.

But when the colorful language began being served their way, enough was enough. Chung decided to make a point rather than score one.

“I hit him with a shot,” Chung said. “I regret it now.”

OK, so he was sorry. Play on.

“Yeah, Ma didn’t like that too much,” Chung said. “He didn’t want to give them any reason to get motivated. This was American University, it’s not exactly one of the tougher schools. But they came out feisty. They probably figured they had nothing to lose and came in very aggressive and very vocal. I took a little offense to that.”

So he hit the guy.

Chung and Ma then rolled to an easy victory.

This is how things work with these two. Chung, who played at Sunny Hills High School, brings fire and a little danger to their game. Ma balances it with consistency and a little level-headed thinking.

That mix has had a lot of Anteater opponents backpedaling. Chung and Ma are 7-2 this season and have been ranked as high as 41st nationally. They are ranked 65th in the latest poll and are a big reason Irvine his risen to 41st in the nation.

The two were paired in the fall and were an immediate hit. They reached the semifinals of the ITA Regional championships in November, beating the second- and third-seeded teams along the way.

It’s an odd couple, but the combination works. After all, opposites do attract.

“Oh yeah, you can see it in their play,” Coach Steve Clark said. “Ma is more steady and won’t come up with wild shots. Sometimes Chung hits the ball into the fence. At the same time, he has a little bigger game. He is more feisty and vocal. Ma doesn’t show things outside. But, inside, you can see he’s fist pumping.”

Ma isn’t your average tennis bum. True, he was top-ranked under-18 player in Hawaii, where he attended Honolulu Punahou High School. But, instead of playing on the junior tour his last year in high school, he decided to hang loose.

“I had been playing hard every year,” said Ma, who was a three-time state high school champion. “Every year, I would go to the mainland for tournaments. It takes up the whole summer when you travel that far. I decided to get in a last few beach days before I went to college.”

It even entered into his choice of college.

“I decided I wanted to stay kind of close to Hawaii,” Ma said.

Since Catalina didn’t have a university, Irvine was it.

Chung, meanwhile, lived close to Irvine but took a round-about way of getting there. He was one of the top high school players in the state, going 81-6 his last two years at Sunny Hills. But he went to California first, then transferred to UCI last fall.

“I was struggling for playing time up there,” Chung said. “Irvine was close to home. It felt more comfortable.”

Now, it’s opponents--like the guy from American University--who get a little uncomfortable.

“The guy was on us right from the introductions,” Ma said. “Chris hit a short ball right at him. I was just trying to make sure we took care of business and took care of the match.”

Not too worry.

“It was a blur after that,” Clark said.

INCOMING

Kelly Murray and Autumn Matthews said they have committed to play basketball at Irvine.

Murray, a 5-foot-7 guard, averaged 12 points in leading Ventura Buena to the Southern Section Division I-A semifinals. Meadows, a 6-1 forward, averaged 24 points for Garden Valley (Calif.) Golden Sierra High School.

GOOD KARMA

Weber State assistant basketball coach Joe Cravens was named the Wildcats’ head coach Monday. He certainly paid his dues.

Not only did Cravens help the Wildcats reach the NCAA tournament this season, he was an assistant on Irvine’s 1-25 team in 1996-97--a season that could have been worse without Cravens around, according to those at Irvine.

His sense of humor alone made it more bearable. Before Weber State’s first-round game against North Carolina, Cravens told a friend that the Tar Heels looked like they could be beaten, at least on the game video he watched.

“Then I realized they were playing Duke on that tape,” Cravens said.

Of course, Cravens ended up being right. Weber State beat North Carolina in the first round.

*

Jeff Dow, an assistant with the women’s basketball team, has left to pursue other opportunities, Coach Mark Adams said. . . . Jamie Blair, a cross-country and track athlete, was one of 300 athletes elected to attend the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference in May. . . . Cypress College sophomore Alisha Van Tassel, a defender from Marina High School, has signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Irvine.