Expectations Pay Off for Determined Exon

Elizabeth Exon looked at her lofty seeding going into the Southern Section girls’ tennis individual tournament and hoped she could live up to it.

After defeating Calabasas junior Celia Durkin in three sets in the semifinals, the Irvine Woodbridge senior began to believe she could. And with a remarkably well-played final match, she did.

Exon beat Lindsey Nelson of Villa Park, 6-4, 7-6 (6), to claim the section singles championship earlier this month at Sea Cliff Country Club in Huntington Beach and cemented her selection as The Times’ girls’ tennis player of the year.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had such a great match, rally-wise,” said Exon, a four-year varsity standout who became the first Woodbridge player to win the singles title.

“I mean, I’ve had moments, of course, and matches where I’ve played well. But that match was incredible. She played great, I played great. It was just unbelievable.”

Susanna Lingman, the only other finalist in school history, lost to Corona del Mar’s Brittany Reitz in the 2000 championship match.

Exon had come close to winning it before. She advanced to the semifinals in her sophomore and junior years, but still was surprised to find herself the top-seeded player in this year’s tournament, a position she thought might go to Nelson, the 2001 runner-up.

“To be honest, I truly thought I would lose in the first round,” Exon said. “Except for high school, I haven’t really been playing tennis that much lately. That’s why winning [the section individual singles title] was so exciting to me.”

In the final, Exon won the first set after converting a break in the fifth game.

In the second set, she trailed, 3-0, and Nelson had five set points, but Exon turned away each one and finally won in the tiebreaker when Nelson hit out on her last four shots.

“I thought it was like a heavyweight match,” Woodbridge Coach Ric Barth said. “I told everybody I talked to that I thought she’d win it this year.”

Exon finished 59-1 in regular-season dual-match sets, 79-2 in sets overall and led the Warriors (19-4) to the Division I quarterfinals of the team playoffs.

Exon also won the Ojai tournament’s girls’ 18 division singles championship and the South Bay and Whittier tournaments on the U.S. Tennis Assn. junior circuit.

“She played her very best tennis at the end of the year,” Barth said. “She had a great season and it was a great way to end it. And the best thing about her is, she’s a total high school team player.”

Exon agreed, saying the championship put an exclamation point on a prep career she treasured. She carries a 4.3 grade-point average and made a point to fit tennis into the rest of her life, not vice versa.

“Tennis, of course, is very important to me, but it’s not life or death. And it almost has to be if it’s the biggest thing in your life,” she said.

“The junior circuit is so competitive. There are girls who it’s the only thing in their life, it is their life. But not me. I’m so happy with how I did it, in moderation.”

Exon has earned a scholarship to Michigan, so her plan paid off.

Just like the one she used to win the section title.