She Knows All the Keys to Success

Whether Judith De Vera is playing tennis or the piano, she wants to strike the right chord, and this year, she did.

De Vera, a junior at Carson High, went unbeaten while leading the Colts (16-0) to the City Section team title for the second consecutive season and then became the first player from her school to win the singles title in the section’s individual tournament.

Last season, De Vera lost in the individual final to Moe Moe Myinttun of Fairfax. De Vera finished third as a freshman.

“I really wanted to win this year because I’ve been so close before,” De Vera said.

Her performance earned her selection as The Times’ girls’ tennis player of the year.

But balancing tennis with the rest of her life can prove as tough as any opponent, even Granada Hills’ Jessica Nguyen, whom the top-seeded De Vera defeated, 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 for the City singles championship.

De Vera plays classical, jazz and contemporary piano competitively in events like the annual Accordion Federation of North America festival, in which she was first runner-up in her division as a 13-year-old and fourth runner-up in the 15-year-olds’ division last year.

She didn’t compete in the festival this year because it fell during the same week in July as the U.S. Tennis Assn. Super National Clay Court Championships, in which she lost in the girls’ 16 singles quarterfinals but advanced to the doubles final with Villa Park High’s Lindsey Nelson.

De Vera also has a part-time job as a piano instructor for a Carson-based music studio, and is in her third year as a tutor of elementary school and junior high students through the Multilingual Teaching Academy, a program for students considering teaching as a profession.

“Tennis isn’t everything,” De Vera says. “It’s important to me to do well, but I’m not a person who would live and breathe tennis, at least not right now.”

If she did, Jim Strong, De Vera’s private coach, believes she could have a future as a professional.

“She’s very good physically,” Strong said. “Sometimes she doesn’t use her speed as much as I’d like her to. I would actually like her to play a more defensive game sometimes. But she says, ‘That’s boring.’ She’s Lindsay Davenport in a 5-3 body.”

Despite her lack of size, De Vera has a big serve, an effective weapon in her two-fisted backhand and good speed to go along with her power.

The combination has proven effective. De Vera, 16, is ranked No. 8 in Southern California and No. 58 nationally in the girls’ 18 division by the USTA.

“She’s had success in every area of her life,” Carson Coach Gordon Emi said, “and that translates to her tennis.”

De Vera defeated Natalie Braverman of Newport Beach Newport Harbor for the USTA girls’ 18 national open singles title three weeks ago and teamed with Nelson to win the girls’ 18 doubles at the J.P. Yamasaki designated tournament in November.

In June, she and Nelson advanced to the final in girls’ 18 Southern California sectional doubles.

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Last year, De Vera defeated Corona del Mar High’s Anne Yelsey to win the Southern California girls’ 16 singles sectional championship and teamed with Nelson to win the girls’ 18 doubles title.

That showing helped to renew her focus.

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“I didn’t expect to win, and when I did win, it was like a sign or something,” De Vera said. “It made me realize how much talent I have and that it shouldn’t go to waste.”

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THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

Final top 10 for the 2001 girls’ tennis season:

1. Corona del Mar (26-1, SS--Pacific Coast)

Corona del Mar won its second consecutive Southern Section Division IV title and ends the season on top on the basis of superior depth.

2. Palos Verdes Peninsula (27-2, SS--Bay)

The Panthers maintained their standard of excellence, winning their fourth consecutive Southern Section Division I championship and 10th title in 11 years.

3. Dana Point Dana Hills (21-6, SS--South Coast)

The Dolphins needed a knockout punch and nearly delivered it as they gave Peninsula all it could handle in the Division I championship match.

4. Beverly Hills (19-4, SS--Bay)

The division didn’t matter to the Normans, who followed up their Division II title in 2000 by winning the Division III championship this year.

5. Fullerton Troy (23-3, SS--Freeway)

The Warriors lived up to their top billing in Division II by finally winning the title in their third consecutive appearance in the final.

6. Palm Desert (23-4, SS--Desert Valley)

The Aztecs knocked out Calabasas in the semifinals and went as far as they could have gone with Corona del Mar also in Division IV.

7. Newport Beach Newport Harbor (16-7, SS--Sea View)

The Sailors made their third consecutive appearance in a championship match, but came up just short against Troy in Division II.

8. Irvine Woodbridge (20-8, SS--Sea View)

The Division III runner-up in a close battle with Beverly Hills, the Warriors will be looking for more next season.

9. Calabasas (20-2, SS--Frontier)

The Coyotes were stopped short of their seemingly annual trip to the Division IV final when they fell to Palm Desert in the semifinals.

10. Laguna Beach (16-8, SS--Pacific Coast)

With their fourth consecutive Division V title, the Artists proved they are the picture of a top-notch team, despite their small-school status.