It Appears to Be a Win-Win Situation at University

All John Kessler did was show up. Now just about all he has to do is tell the Irvine University boys’ tennis team he coaches to do the same.

The Trojans are that good.

“Have I walked into some kind of a situation at Uni, or what?” said Kessler, who arrived from Long Island, N.Y., in September--just in time to lead the University girls’ tennis team to the Southern Section Division II semifinals.

He expects the boys’ team to go even farther.

“I had some pretty fair teams in New York, but nothing like the level that this team is at,” Kessler said.

University, which was 18-7 and won its second consecutive Division II title last year, has a lineup that might be the state’s deepest.

At No. 1 singles will be senior Aaron Yovan, a Southern Section singles semifinalist and Ojai tournament Interscholastic Division finalist last year who plans to play at UCLA in the fall.

“There are basically two things I can tell Aaron: When to show up and, when he holds up the Southern Section trophy, to make sure we’re all in the picture,” Kessler said. “The kid is a great player.”

Yovan is No. 7 in Southern California and No. 38 nationally in the U.S. Tennis Assn. boys’ 18 division standings.

University’s No. 2 singles spot will be filled by either junior Jack Li, the Southern California boys’ 16 division sectional champion, or Harvard-bound senior Henry Mak, who is back after being sidelined most of last season because of a blood disorder. Li is No. 16 in boys’ 18 SCTA standings.

Another senior, Jeff Lawrence, was Mak’s replacement last year and also could play No. 3 singles or in doubles.

Senior captain Anson Hsu and junior Michael Haier also are likely to play both singles and doubles, and Kessler is high on freshman Matt Chou, No. 73 in boys’ 16 SCTA standings.

“That collection of seven guys might be one of the best seven in the country,” Kessler said. “Long Island has some top tennis, but to see that many guys on one team, that’s what makes this team special.”

At the end of season, the Trojans hope to advance to their fourth consecutive Division II final. They beat Woodbridge last year and Brentwood in 2000, and lost to Harvard-Westlake in the 1999 final.

“The expectations are very high. I never expect to lose a match, period,” Kessler said.

“And with this group, the expectations are even higher, and they should be high. No reason, when we’re all together, that we should lose to anybody.”