Calabasas’ Star Freshman Playing Beyond Her Years

Monica Wiesener’s powerful ground strokes were pivotal in the Calabasas High girls’ tennis team posting a 179-9 record in singles sets this year.

“We were playing at a really high level all season,” Wiesener said. “Even when we were playing an average team, we took every match as important. Otherwise, you might end up losing.”

Calabasas (21-1) advanced to the Southern Section Division IV championship match for the third consecutive season, losing to Corona del Mar, 13-5.

Wiesener, a freshman who shared the No. 1 spot with Celia Durkin and Erin Everly, was 65-5 in sets and wrested the Frontier League title from 1999 champion Everly.

She advanced to the round of 16 before losing to Irvine Woodbridge’s Elizabeth Exon, 6-2, 6-1, in the section individual tournament last month at The Claremont Club.

Wiesener, 15, has been named The Times’ Valley/Ventura County region player of the year.

Wiesener took up tennis at age 10 and, once she began competing in girls’ 14 division tournaments on the U.S. Tennis Assn. junior circuit, success came quickly.

“If you want to do this, you have to be really focused,” she said.

Wiesener will play in the prestigious Fiesta Bowl starting Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz., taking the No. 15 ranking in the Southern California Tennis Assn. girls’ 16 division into the tournament.

“She’s got a lot of pure power and one of the nicest backhands that I’ve seen in junior tennis,” said John Hilton, one of Wiesener’s private coaches. “I definitely think she has a big-time game.

“I think the biggest thing is just her actually believing she’s as good as she is. She can hit as well as anyone from both sides. Now we’re just teaching her how to win.”

Wiesener had a chance to hit with five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg about six months ago under the guidance of Nels Van Patten, her other private coach. Borg recommended that she participate in one of his tennis camps in Sweden.

“He told me, ‘Monica is very special and I’d like her to train with me in Sweden,’ ” said Van Patten, a Sherman Oaks resident.

Wiesener is considering the offer, Van Patten said.

“He saw something in her,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. He hits with all my students when he’s here, and he’s never said anything about anyone else.”

Wiesener had three losses to City Section singles runner-up Judith De Vera in SCTA events this year, one each in a semifinal and quarterfinal.

“She has a lot of poise,” Van Patten said. “It’s up to Monica to take the game to the next level.”

Wiesener is working on it.

She defeated Beverly Hills High standout Riza Zalemeda for the first time in the J.P. Yamasaki tournament in October and went three sets--the longest she ever has--before suffering her third loss of the year to Nina Yaftali of Westlake Village in the backdraw of the same event.

Wiesener defeated Ashley Schelhas of Edina, Minn., whom she had never beaten, in the backdraws of the Quiksilver Roxy and USTA Girls’ 16 Super National Hardcourt tournaments and reached the quarterfinals of the Southern California Sectional tournament in June.

They were precursors to the success Wiesener would enjoy with Calabasas.

“We wanted to get to the [Southern Section] finals,” she said. “We knew Corona del Mar would be really good. But we wanted to play them and just prove we were meant to be there. It was a good season.”

Especially for Wiesener.