Redondo Has Title Thoughts

Not a trace of tension emanated from the Redondo boys’ tennis team as top players competed recently in the Ocean League individual tournament.

As matches unfolded on a nearby court, the players’ sideline banter seemed confined to lighthearted topics. But when the subject turned to the Sea Hawks’ postseason fate, the rhetoric took on a more urgent tone.

“This is the year for us,” junior Nick Berger said.

Added Coach Jim Ball: “We know our window is this season.”

Redondo has a top-tier athlete in Nathan Stadler, the league’s most valuable singles player last season. It has two experienced doubles teams; Berger and junior Andy Gerst defeated senior teammates Jon Vlasach and Logan Bailey, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, in the Southern Section doubles championship match Saturday for the pair’s first title.

Throughout the afternoon, even with his dream doubles matchup coming to fruition, Ball couldn’t get Brentwood (18-6) off his mind. His fixation is understandable -- the Eagles beat then-undefeated Redondo, 12-6, in the Division IV championship match last season.

The Sea Hawks get their shot at redemption today at 2:30 as the teams square off in a Division IV title rematch at the Claremont Club. All five divisional championships are today, beginning with Division III at 11 a.m.

Despite unprecedented individual success, Redondo (26-2) is a group that gets most excited about the prospect of a team title. These are players who happily switch doubles partners and play at any position if it will help the collective whole.

“One of the reasons we are good is that we’re competitive, but not to the point where our egos get in the way,” said Stadler, who advanced to the round of 16 in the section singles competition.

The Sea Hawks were moved from the competitive Division I Bay League to the Division IV Ocean League after the 2002 season. Over the last two seasons, Redondo is 50-3 and hasn’t dropped a league match. Last season’s division runner-up finish was the program’s best in school history.

Realignment will move Redondo back to the Bay League for all sports beginning in the fall, which makes this the optimum time for a title.

For Stadler, a senior who plans to walk on to the USC tennis team, this is his last chance.

He has been Redondo’s top singles player in every match he has played for the school. When Stadler’s family moved to Carlsbad for most of his sophomore season, the Sea Hawks finished 11-9, losing six of nine matches by two points or fewer.

“We called those ‘Nathan losses,’ ” Ball said. “With him, we would have won some of those matches.”

Stadler returned to the South Bay before his junior year, and the team has excelled since.

A right wrist injury has forced Stadler to change the grip on some ground strokes. He is not playing at full strength, which puts an even greater emphasis on a complete team performance against Brentwood.

Stadler has shown a high threshold for pain in postseasons, and his team has developed an equally low tolerance for losing.

“Last year was incredible,” Stadler said. “We can [win the title] this time.”