City Is Personal Playground of El Camino Real

The El Camino Real High boys’ tennis team is at it again.

The Conquistadores (14-0), defending City Section champions, are seeded No. 1 in the playoffs and toying with the competition.

The latest victim was Elizabeth Learning Center, which El Camino Real dismantled, 29 1/2-0, in a first-round match Tuesday at El Camino Real.

Next up, in today’s quarterfinals, is No. 8-seeded Grant (12-2).

But the Conquistadores’ sights are trained on the City final May 10 at Balboa Sports Complex in Encino.

“We think about it constantly,” said Shaun Flynn, a team captain and part of the unbeaten No. 1 doubles team with sophomore Nick Kogan.

“Even when the girls’ team first started playing [last fall], we couldn’t wait to get out there. From the first match we’ve played, we’re always thinking about it.”

El Camino Real won the 2000 City Championship with a 17-12 1/2 victory over Granada Hills.

“We’re really eager to win again,” Kogan said. “We felt confident of our chances last year, and personally, I think this is probably the best team we’ve ever had.”

The Conquistadores returned six players ranked in the top 100 in their respective age groups by the U.S. Tennis Assn. last year.

“The whole team is really working hard,” Kogan said. “We think we can take on anybody. We’re out to prove we’re the best.”

So far, so good.

Last year’s team finished 15-1, its only loss coming against Granada Hills in a West Valley League match. This season, the Conquistadores handed the Highlanders (12-2) their only losses.

Unbeaten No. 1 player James Magsino, a senior captain and the defending City singles champion, is rated No. 90 in the boys’ 18 division in Southern California and No. 87 nationally in boys’ 16s.

Senior Matt Jones, No. 54 in boys’ 18s in Southern California, reached No. 30 in 16s last year. Junior Dan Nguyen is ranked No. 51 and sophomore Bruce Aiken is No. 62 in 16s.

Flynn and Kogan are ranked No. 11 in Southern California in boys’ 18 doubles. They advanced to the round of 32 in the high school division of the Ojai tournament last week.

“I’ve got some fine tennis players who love the game and love to play,” Coach Marvin Jones said. “And we’re winning. That’s what makes it really special.

“It’s a carry-over from last season. The question with the boys this season was, ‘Could they do it again?’ ”

The Conquistadores will soon find out.

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Robert Yim’s left elbow is a sore spot.

No. 4-seeded Yim, a Glendale High sophomore, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Ojai tournament last week before defaulting because of a strained left elbow that has bothered him sporadically the last few months.

Yim, a left-hander ranked No. 3 in boys’ 18s and No. 1 in 16s in Southern California, was the highest-seeded player from the region competing in high school singles at Ojai.

He looked the part in victories over Jeremy Owens of Elsinore and Peter Surapol of Cerritos, but his elbow began bothering him during a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Sean McKean of Brentwood in the round of 16.

Yim defaulted to No. 31-ranked Sergiu Modoc of El Dorado, who was beaten in the semifinals by eventual champion Patrick Buchanan of Anaheim Servite.

“I think I had a good chance of winning,” Yim said. “But [the elbow] was just hurting worse and worse. I was just getting concerned, and I didn’t want to risk it.”

The injury occurred in December and has been exacerbated by Yim’s busy tournament schedule.

But he has managed to play well in several elite tournaments. Last month, he won the boys’ 18 title in an International Tennis Federation tournament in Panama and advanced to the final of another ITF event in Costa Rica.

He also advanced to the boys’ 18 final of the Fullerton tournament before losing to 16-and-under Ojai champion Doug Stewart of Malibu.

Yim followed that by losing in the second round in the Easter Bowl tournament to Hamid Mirzadeh of Lake Worth, Fla., who advanced to the final before losing.

Yim rebounded from that defeat to earn a berth in the back-draw final and finish sixth in the 128-player Easter Bowl field.

Todd Widom of Coral Springs, Fla. won the consolation final, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, but Yim defeated Lester Cook of Sherman Oaks, ranked No. 4 in 18s in Southern California, and Rylan Rizza of Rancho Palos Verdes, ranked No. 8.

But there is little rest for his ailing elbow.

Yim is 39-0 in round-robin, dual-match sets at No. 1 singles for Glendale (9-7, 5-4 in the Pacific League).

He defeated two highly regarded players for first-place Arcadia. The Nitros lost to Arcadia, 10-8, on Monday, but Yim posted victories of 6-1 over Gordon Hong, ranked No. 69 in 18s in Southern California, and 6-0 over Mark Contreras, ranked No. 93.

On Tuesday, Yim did not drop a game while sweeping Crescenta Valley’s singles lineup in Glendale’s 13-5 victory.

“He’s really been on fire,” Glendale Coach Bob Davidson said. “He’s playing about as well as he ever has right now.”