Opos Is Student of Game, Gets A’s

Josh Opos doesn’t have tennis down to a science . . . yet.

As Grant High’s No. 1 player, Opos is working on it, just as he did to develop a computer program that searches for diseases in genetic codes.

The project, which Opos completed with Grant students Nick Hakovian and Mike Johnson, recently won the math-computer science division of a school science fair. It was presented in the L.A. County Science Fair at the Los Angeles Convention Center earlier this week.

“I think it was the topic,” Opos said. “It’s kind of important. And it combined both computers and biology. I think that’s what did it.

“The actual algorithm is not too advanced. But we’re still working on it.”

For winning in the school fair, the UC San Diego-bound Opos received a medal and a $10 gift certificate to a book store.

“I saw all the competition,” Opos said. “I thought we had a good chance to win.”

Opos, a senior, usually beats the competition on the court, too.

He is 10-1 in his second season at No. 1 singles for Grant (11-0), seeded No. 8 in the City Championship playoffs that start Tuesday. Grant hosts No. 9 Van Nuys in a first-round match.

Opos took up tennis as a freshman, starting that season at No. 3 doubles and ending at No. 3 singles. Last season, he played No. 2 singles.

That Opos learned tennis so quickly is no surprise. He takes courses in advanced-placement biology, calculus, economics and English, and was in an advanced-placement computer science course as a sophomore.

Opos is among 15 college peer counselors at Grant, assisting the school’s college advisor.

“It’s kind of like being a [teacher’s aide],” Opos said. “We call in all the juniors and seniors and tell them what they can expect. I thought it would be a good experience and help me learn about college.”

Opos plans to major in--what else?--computer science at San Diego.

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Adam Zunder, a senior at Campbell Hall who is ranked No. 129 in the boys’ 18 division by the U.S. Tennis Assn. and was ranked as high as No. 9 in Southern California in the boys’ 16s in 1998, is close to ending his four-year varsity career.

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The left-hander has a high school record of 194-24 with three-regular-season matches to play. He has missed only one match in four years with the Vikings.

“For a kid of that caliber of player to do that . . . he’s what you call a team player,” Coach Steve Kuechel said.

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El Camino Real and Granada Hills shared top billing in the West Valley League this season, but the teams won’t share top seeding in the City playoffs that start Tuesday.

The Conquistadores and Highlanders finished with 12-1 records, 9-1 in league play. They split two matches and won the same number of games.

So who is seeded No. 1?

El Camino Real is, after winning a coin flip this week. Granada Hills is seeded No. 2. Both teams have a first-round bye.

“The seeding doesn’t make a lot of difference, but I think psychologically, the boys were hoping they’d be No. 1,” Coach Ron Wood of Granada Hills said.

“But we’re excited. We have a blend of seasoned players and younger guys with experience.”

Other region teams in the draw are No. 8 Grant and No. 9 Van Nuys.

Birmingham is top-seeded in the Invitational bracket, with Sherman Oaks CES seeded No. 2. Chatsworth struggled in the West Valley League, but the Chancellors are seeded No. 3 and have a first-round bye. Monroe is seeded No. 5 and Poly is No. 8.

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The Top 10

Rankings of boys’ tennis teams from the region

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 Harvard-Westlake (Mission) 18-3 2 2 Westlake (Marmonte) 14-0 3 3 Burbank (Foothill) 14-2 4 4 Rio Mesa (Pacific View) 13-1 5 5 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 11-5 6 6 Crespi (Mission) 13-4 7 7 Granada Hills (West Valley) 12-1 8 8 El Camino Real (West Vly) 12-1 9 9 Glendale (Pacific) 12-4 10 10 Camarillo (Pacific View) 10-4

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