VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : GIRLS’ TENNIS PREVIEW : Calabasas Should Give Teams Doubles Trouble

The means might change, but the Calabasas High girls’ tennis team hopes the end will be the same.

“I would be disappointed if we don’t make the finals again,” Coach Bill Bellatty said.

The Coyotes were the region’s only team to reach a Southern Section championship match last season, losing to San Marino, 12-6, in the Division IV final.

Calabasas finished 21-1-1 on the strength of its singles play, relying heavily on No. 1 player Shervin Saedinia, who has moved on to Syracuse. Saedinia (60-3 in dual-match sets) advanced to the round of 16 in the Southern Section individual tournament.

The Coyotes plan to fill the void with an experienced doubles lineup that last year gave opponents plenty of trouble.

“When I sit back, I don’t have that one big superstar anymore,” Bellatty said. “But I’m optimistic. I really think we’re going to make up that three points, but we’re still discussing who’s going to be playing where.”

Freshman Erin Everly, ranked No. 15 in Southern California and 96th nationally in the girls’ 14 division by the U.S. Tennis Assn., will play No. 1 singles. Everly is the sister of senior Vanessa Everly, who plays doubles.

After that, the Coyotes plan to mix and match.

“I’ve got a lot of kids I can play a lot of different places and that’s my biggest problem,” Bellatty said. “But that’s a good problem to have.”

Whatever the lineup, Bellatty can count on his doubles teams.

Junior Andrea Leewong played No. 1 doubles and went 66-1 last season with three partners, including Vanessa Everly and Brittany Bierman.

Kathy Habuki returns for her senior season after posting a 65-4 record with the graduated Frayla Schoenfeld. Leewong and Bierman won the Frontier League doubles tournament.

Freshmen Chloe Soloman and Devin Hindin will play No. 3 doubles.

“We’re going to be really strong in doubles,” Bellatty said. “We’re really deep and that’s going to be the key.”

Singles spots, other than Erin Everly, are undecided.

Bierman, Vanessa Everly and Jackie Yano played singles and doubles at last season. Marisa Kagan and Hilary Leewong, sophomores up from the junior varsity, provide more options. Kagan saw some time at No. 3 doubles in the playoffs last year.

“I think we’re good,” Vanessa Everly said. “The whole team’s just really deep. We haven’t played under pressure yet, but I think we should do pretty well.”

Others teams in the region to watch:

Harvard-Westlake: The Wolverines return six members from a team that lost in the Division III semifinals.

Junior Stephanie Berg and sophomore Jessica Leck advanced to the doubles semifinals of the USTA girls’ 16 National Hardcourt Championships last month in San Diego, but will fill the top two singles spots for Harvard-Westlake.

Chelsea Heller and Chelsea Dillon are back to form the top doubles team. Katelyn Rader, Nicole Barshop and Lisa Feigenbaum played at singles and doubles last year. Senior Tricia Hom has rejoined the team after playing as a sophomore but sitting out last year.

The Wolverines added Alexandra MacLennan, a transfer from Marlborough who will play No. 3 singles, and freshman Zelda Harris, who will play No. 1 or No. 2 doubles.

Agoura: The Chargers boast the best player in the area, junior Brooke Borisoff. She has won the last two Marmonte League singles titles and is ranked No. 26 in the nation in the girls’ 16 division by the USTA.

Borisoff is one of the few top junior players who has elected to play with her high school team. One who didn’t return is junior Alyson Tyson, the Chargers’ No. 2 player last year. Tyson is rated No. 30 in Southern California and No. 125 nationally in girls’ 16 rankings. Agoura also lost Alexis Bell, who played No. 3 singles but has moved to the Bay area.

Agoura returns seven members of a squad that advanced to the Division III quarterfinals. Among them is Lauren Hahn, a four-year varsity player who will likely play No. 1 doubles with freshman Elisa Reizman.

Agoura will be tested by a tough schedule that includes Calabasas, Camarillo, Simi Valley, San Marcos and Santa Barbara.

Burroughs: The Indians have the area’s most experienced team after returning eight of nine players. Burroughs’ hurdle is Hart, the two-time defending Foothill League champion which went unbeaten in league in 1997 and ’98.

Junior Dragana Ognenovska, the runner-up in last year’s Foothill League singles tournament, is the Indians’ No. 1 player. The top doubles team of Michelle Hildreth and Melissa Hooven also returns.

Freshman basketball standout Shania Zaidi has claimed the No. 2 singles spot and could compete for No. 1. Jenni Wooldridge, a senior returnee, is at No. 3.

Granada Hills: The Highlanders lost to Palisades in the City Championship final and return seven players from that team.

Junior Jasmine Dao (17-4) and seniors Kelly Takeshita and Michal Zeituni are back in singles.

Junior Caryn Linder, who played singles last year, will return to the doubles lineup, where she advanced to the City Section individual tournament’s doubles final as a freshman. Linder teams with Shannon Slotnick, who reached the doubles final match last year with Valerie Ramirez, who has graduated.

Another doubles team is Andrea Bleiden and Jennifer Steinberg, who were 20-3 and lost in the City tournament’s third-place match.

Westlake: Usually among the top three teams in the region, the Warriors will have to battle to maintain that standing.

Top singles players Nina Yaftali and Audra Dickey have decided not to play, opting instead to concentrate on private lessons and the USTA junior circuit.

Yaftali, a sophomore, has a No. 23 national ranking in girls’ 14s and was 52-8 as a freshman. Dickey posted a 50-16 record.

Top doubles players Brittany and Nicole Jensky have graduated.

But the depth of a team that was 22-1 and went to the Division III semifinals and a junior varsity that was 17-1 make Westlake difficult to write off.

Sophomore Amy Corwin, 47-16 at No. 3 singles as a freshman, is competing with Jessica Blau, a junior transfer from La Reina, for the top spot in the lineup.

Junior Catharine Irvin, will probably play No. 3 singles, with doubles to be determined.

Campbell Hall: The region’s best Division V team, the Vikings rely on No. 1 player Melissa Nguyen.

Nguyen was 63-2 last season, 57-0 in round-robin competition and Coach Ben Harvey said she has improved.

Junior Letta Vanerian returns to play No. 2 singles, and Sarah Senechal and Bri Delamarter form the top doubles team.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

At a Glance

THE PROVEN: Junior Brooke Borisoff of Agoura holds the No. 5 ranking in Southern California in the U.S. Tennis Assn. girls’ 16 division and is rated 26th nationally. Diana Friedland of Van Nuys, ranked No. 15 in Southern California in the same division, is the region’s best City Section player. San Fernando’s top player, senior Gladys Preciado, showed versatility by making the singles final of a USTA open tournament in Los Angeles in July and pairing with Dalia Alcazar to win the L.A. Watts Summer Games doubles title. The Tigers return all three doubles teams, including Claudia Perez and Valerie Ramirez, who were 17-2 last season. Senior Yasmin Fisher of Buena enters her fourth season as the Bulldogs’ No. 1 player. She was the Channel League singles runner-up in last year and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1998 Southern Section tournament before losing to eventual-champion Tiffany Brymer. Georgette Wright of Burbank is ranked No. 17 in Southern California. Sophomore Danielle Evans of Royal, who won three Ventura County-area junior tournaments over the summer, will be the Highlanders’ No. 1 player. Junior Lauren Gaona will be Camarillo’s top player for the third season in a row. Rebecca Hunau, a top doubles player who won Marmonte League titles and advanced to the round of 16 and the quarterfinals with Margo O’Donnell in the Southern Section doubles tournament the last two years, moves to No. 1 singles for the rebuilding Pioneers. Melissa Nguyen of Campbell Hall won the consolation bracket of the USTA Southern California sectional tournament in June and was 57-0 in round-robin competition last season. Senior Heidi Gragg will be at No. 1 or No. 2 doubles for Hart after playing on Quartz Hill’s No. 1 team last year.

THE PROMISING: Shania Zaidi, freshman basketball standout for Burroughs, is a solid tennis player and is expected to play No. 1 or 2 singles for the Indians. Elisa Reizman will play No. 1 doubles for Agoura with Lauren Hahn. Jessica Blau, a junior transfer from La Reina, is competing for the top spot at Westlake. Coach Fraser Allan of Buckley has high hopes for freshman Leala Shah.

OUTLOOK: Westlake has earned berths in seven Southern Section titles matches, winning four times in its 22 years of existence.