History Class

In the weeks leading up to “The Ojai,” as the nation’s oldest amateur tennis tournament is known, students at the Thacher School are immersed in the history of the event.

In the next few days, they will become an invaluable part of it.

Students at the tiny Ojai boarding school for ninth- through 12th-graders make up a third of 600 volunteers who run the Ojai tournament each year.

“They’re everywhere, they do everything,” said Chris Mazzola, dean of students at Thacher and coordinator of the student workers during the tournament. “It’s a huge production.”

Students will be called upon to do everything from serving as ball boys and girls, court managers and scorekeepers, to working as computer data processors, photographers, hosts and hostesses of the orange juice and tea tents, to cleaning up afterward.

“It’s quite a logistical feat to get 200 kids wherever they need to be at all the different sites each day,” Mazzola said.

Nearly all of Thacher’s 240 students, as well as its 40 faculty members, serve as volunteers for at least two days of the tournament.

“We represent the school, so we all take it pretty seriously,” said senior Mia Silverman. “I think we all look forward to it. It’s a tradition.”

Like the complimentary orange juice served in the mornings and the hot tea and cookies offered in the afternoons, Thacher student participation is expected, and allowances are made for it.

Juniors and seniors will be excused from classes today and Friday in order to perform their duties. Freshmen and sophomores will be off Friday.

The week offers relief from the rigorous, eclectic schedules of the students, who live in dormitories under the supervision of teachers who live on the expansive, 440-acre campus.

Founded in 1889 by Sherman Day Thacher, brother of Ojai tournament founder William Thacher, the college-prep school is modeled after East Coast boarding schools and offers a curriculum emphasizing outdoor courses and community service.

School-wide adventures include camping trips, mountain climbs and river-rafting led by faculty members.

Students are required to become proficient in equestrian skills. They rise early each morning to care for horses before school and ride for 1 1/2 hours, five days a week, for at least a year of their stay at Thacher.

Community service is encouraged, and according to Mazzola, about 85% of students work at retirement homes, homeless shelters and in Special Olympics events.

“This is a great break,” said senior Annie Nyborg, who will work as a scorecard keeper and take digital photographs for a tournament Web site.

“Everybody I know loves tennis weekend. It’s work, but the work is fun. And the fact that we get days off to do this really helps because I know if I miss a day, it’s pretty hard to get caught up again.”

In addition to offbeat curriculum, Thacher students lately have had a crash course in Ojai tournament history.

“It’ll be a lot bigger deal this year because of the 100th anniversary celebration,” said junior David Babbott.

Babbott will compete in the tournament’s interscholastic doubles division with Andrew DeYoung, as well as serve as a court manager. He’ll check players in, assign courts, hand out tennis balls and supervise a crew of eight scorecard-flippers at Ojai Valley Athletic Club.

Babbott, Silverman and Nyborg have worked as ball boys and ball girls, the only job freshmen are assigned.

“They started telling us about the tournament three weeks ago,” said freshman Edward Tavernetti. “Hopefully, I’ll get to see some great tennis. I think it might be better to be out on the courts because I’ll be close to the action. I think the experience will be good for me.”

No tennis experience is necessary, however.

“I kind of learned tennis through working at this tournament,” said Silverman, a four-year veteran of the event.

Silverman has served as a ball girl, scorecard keeper, court manager and hostess. This time, she will assist tournament director Tony Thacher, grandson of the Thacher School founder and grandnephew of the Ojai tournament founder.

Ball boys and girls are given instruction and put through practice sessions.

“The teachers tell you what to do,” said Owili Eison, a freshman. “You’re not the only one out there. Everybody else is out there, too, and that helps.”

A Thacher bus shuttles students between school and various tournament sites, and faculty members are designated to drive and supervise the work force.

“I’m just all over the valley,” Mazzola said. “I do whatever needs doing. If someone calls and says, ‘I’m freezing. Bring me a sweater,’ I’ll go and bring them a sweater.

“It’s just something we do and will continue to do. We just do our little part.”

And the students are glad to do theirs.

“This has been going on for 100 years,” Eison said. “It makes you feel kind of special, like you’re one of the elite.”

Or, as Tavernetti said, “I almost feel like I’m part of history, doing this.”

After this week, he will be part of 100 years of it.

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* HISTORY OF OJAI

Tradition, not commercialism, reigns at amateur tournament. Page 3

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The Ojai Tournament

* WHAT: The Ojai tennis tournament, oldest and largest amateur tennis competition in the nation, celebrates its 100th anniversary.

The event was started in 1896 by William L. Thacher. There have been five years when the tournament was not played. An outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease in rural Ojai forced cancellation of competition in 1924, and the tournament was not played from 1943-46 because of World War II.

The tournament includes 1,600 players in 37 divisions participating in age-group, interscholastic, college and open competition.

The tournament plays host to the Pacific 10 Conference individual championships, the Big West Conference championships and the NCAA Division III West regional tournament.

* WHEN: The Big West Conference women’s competition began Wednesday and will end Saturday. All other divisions begin play today, with age-group, high school and community college competitions ending Saturday. The open divisions and the Pac-10 and Division III tournaments end Sunday.

Play will run from 8 a.m. to approximately 6 p.m. each day. Age-group finals are scheduled for Saturday at Libbey Park. Division III, community college and Pac-10 finals and open championships are scheduled for Sunday.

* WHERE: Libbey Park in downtown Ojai is the central site, and semifinal and final rounds will be played there.

Some 150 courts from Camarillo to Ojai will be used. Among alternative sites are the Ojai Valley Athletic Club, Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, Villanova Prep, Thacher and Happy Valley schools, and Soule Park in Ojai; the Pierpont Racquet Club and Camino Real Park in Ventura, Ventura College, Buena and Ventura highs; the Marriott Residence Inn, Oxnard Tennis Center and Moranda Park in Oxnard; the Cabrillo Racquet Club in Somis; and Las Posas Golf and Country Club and Spanish Hills Golf and Country Club in Camarillo.

* WHO’S IN IT: The Pac-10 tournament will include Tiffany Brymer of USC and Zuzana Stunova of Washington, who won Southern Section singles championships at Rio Mesa High. Other players include Travis Rettenmaier (Camarillo) and Jennifer Donahue (Agoura Hills) of UCLA, Krissy Hamilton-Heinberg (Agoura Hills) of USC and Dillon Ruby (Agoura) of Washington.

Big West Conference competitors include Erin Carroll (Ventura High), Jennifer Azevedo (Westlake) and Mike Marquez (St. Bonaventure) of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Kaarin Benson, Jennifer Stoltenberg and Stacey Scanlon of Cal Lutheran will play in women’s independent college competition.

T.J. Veii, Tyrel Carson, Derrick Goldie and Geoff Kida of Ventura, Dave Patterson of Glendale and Farhad and Farshid Hajimirzaee of Pierce are playing in the community college division.

Top players in the boys’ interscholastic tournament include Philip Sheng and Andrew Lieu of Thousand Oaks High, Nick Weiss of Calabasas, Quinn Borchard of Rio Mesa, Alex Yaftali, Billy Corso and Mike Horak of Westlake, Andrew Rosenfeld, Prakash Amritraj and David Frankel of Harvard-Westlake, Stephen Amritraj of Crespi, Robert Yim of Glendale, Jason Nguyen of Chatsworth, Nima Roshan, Brian Mintz and Brad Steinberg of Granada Hills, and Tigran Martirosyan of Burbank.

Boys’ age-group competition includes 14s and 16s divisions. Top players are Lester Cook of Calabasas, Justin Montgomery of Oxnard and David Keyes of Sherman Oaks.

Junior girls participate in age-group competition only. Top players in girls’ 18s include Erica Sauer of Somis, Stephanie Berg of Harvard-Westlake, Jasmin Dao of Granada Hills, Yasmin Fisher of Buena and Erin Jones of Camarillo.

Girls’ 16 players include Brooke Borisoff of Agoura, Nina Yaftali of Westlake, Alyssa Halcomb of St. Bonaventure, Erin Everly of Calabasas, Jessica Leck and Alexandra Maclennan of Harvard-Westlake and Georgette Wright of Burbank.

Christine Dao heads the girls’ 14 division.

* FAST FACTS: “The Ojai” is organized by the Ojai Valley Tennis Club. A committee of 30 plans the annual event. The club oversees 600 volunteers who help with the tournament.

No prize money is awarded. Players compete for USTA rankings, college championships and the right to have their names placed on perpetual trophies in each division.

Tradition lives in the form of complimentary orange juice in the mornings and tea and cookies in the afternoon.

Greats who played at Ojai include Don Budge, Gene Mako, Ted Schroeder, Jack Kramer, Bill Tilden, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Dennis Ralston, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Helen Wills Moody, Maureen Connelly, Louise Brough, Billie Jean King, Tracy Austin and Lindsay Davenport.

* ADMISSION: Four-day passes for today through Sunday are $28. One-day tickets are $8 Thursday and Friday, $12 Saturday and $13 Sunday. Information: (805) 640-8270.