HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEW : She Gives Artists a Happy Return : Girls’ tennis: With academy in Florida an option, Maddocks keeps her promise to come back for sophomore season at Laguna Beach.

As far as Laguna Beach girls’ tennis Coach Michelle Foster is concerned, the crucial moment of the 1999 season came at the team banquet after the ’98 championship season.

That’s when freshman Ashley Maddocks, the Artists’ No. 1 singles player, informed Foster that she would be back to help Laguna Beach defend its Southern Section Division V title.

“When I saw her this summer and I thought she might be wavering from that decision, I reminded her, ‘You promised to me and all the girls that you’d be back.’ ”

Maddocks admitted she did some waffling and soul-searching this summer as she contemplated spending her entire sophomore year at the Billy Stearns Tennis Center in Sarasota, Fla. But she decided she wasn’t quite ready to commit seven hours a day to tennis or to become an adult at 15.

So Maddocks honored her commitment to Laguna Beach, pleasing Foster, her teammates and her cheering section.

“I think Ashley’s going to go on to incredible things in tennis,” said Foster, who played college tennis at UC Irvine and Long Beach State. “But we’re happy to have her for another year.”

Maybe no one is happier than the little girls who came to Laguna Beach’s home matches dressed in their favorite player’s attire--a tennis outfit highlighted by high black socks and a bandanna, tied loosely around the neck.

“They were so cute,” Maddocks said. “It’s kind of cool that people look up to me.”

Said Foster: “There were all these little Ashley Maddocks running around. It was a crackup.”

The Maddocks fan club also included the boys’ water polo team and the baseball team, whose members were so loud in their affection for Maddocks that they occasionally had to be calmed down.

What gets everyone so riled up? Foster believes it has as much to do with Maddocks’ style as her ability to hit a tennis ball.

“She makes people want to watch,” Foster said. “She goes out there whipping the ball around with such force, going for every shot. She has that flare that makes you notice her right away.”

Sort of the way Anna Kournikova makes someone notice her.

“The kid’s got it all,” Foster said. “If she does ever go pro, I’m sure she’ll make a lot of money in endorsements.”

The pro tour seemed a million miles away to Maddocks this summer, when she struggled in her first year in the girls’ 16 division. Maddocks went out early in the Southern California Sectionals and lost in the second round at the national hard courts in San Diego. In between, she played well at the national clay courts in Virginia Beach, Fla.

“I know I have to hit more balls to win a point on clay, so that makes me more consistent,” said Maddocks, who was ranked third in Southern California in the girls’ 14s last year. “On hard courts I feel like I can hit the ball harder, so I just go for too much.”

And when Maddocks makes a few physical mistakes, the mental errors often follow.

“I have a power game and a really good forehand, but sometimes I don’t think on the court,” she said. “I can get really mad at myself.”

That’s usually where Foster comes in. Maddocks goes to private coaches Tim Pawsat and Keri Phebus, former college All-Americans and touring pros, for work on technique and strategy, and she turns to Foster for moral support.

Maddocks said Foster helped pull her through the Southern Section team finals against Carpinteria Cate. Maddocks trailed Lori Stern, 4-1, in the first round. After a talk with Foster, Maddocks won the next five games and the set, keying the Artists’ 12-6 victory.

“When I really needed her the most, she was there for me,” Maddocks said. Foster figures that’s the least she can do for Maddocks, who says her fashion statement won’t include the high black socks and bandanna this year.

“She was so incredible last year,” Foster said. “With this whole team sitting there expecting her to win three sets every time, most of the time, she did. We’ll probably expect her to do the same, if not more, this year.”

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The Orange County Sportswriters’ preseason top 10 rankings: 1. Melissa Esmero (Mater Dei), Sr., Times Orange County player of the year, 62-1 in dual matches last year; 2. Kim Nguyen (Saddleback), Jr., two-time Times all-county first team, reached fourth round of girls’ 18 nationals last month; 3. Natalie Braverman (Newport Harbor), Jr., reached fourth round of girls’ 16 nationals last month, Southern California Sectionals singles finalist; 4. Maddocks, 12th in Southern California girls’ 16s; 5. Nadia Vaughan (Corona del Mar), Sr., three-time Times all-county selection; 6. Jenny Bailey (Capistrano Valley), Sr., round of 16 in Southern Section individual singles last year; 7. Audra Adams (Newport Harbor), Sr., Southern Section individual doubles finalist with Kristen Case last year, won two mother-daughter doubles tournaments this summer; 8. Leigh Ann Merryman (Capistrano Valley), Sr., reached third round of girls’ 16 nationals last month. 9. Joanna Kao (Sunny Hills), So., 28th in girls’ 14s last year; 10. Etel Bugescu (University), Sr., reached round of 16 in Southern Section individuals as freshman and sophomore.

Others to watch: Kristen Case (Newport Harbor), Sr.; Kim Dao (El Dorado), Fr.; Elizabeth Exon (Woodbridge), Fr.; Adrianna Hockicko, (Woodbridge), Sr.; Mary Hung (Mater Dei), Sr.; Erin Miller (Santa Margarita), Sr.; Kate Romm (Dana Hills), Sr.; Aya Sakoda (Troy), So.; Kim Singer (Corona del Mar), So.; Samantha Waller (Cypress), So.; Anne Yelsey (Corona del Mar), Fr.