LAHS tennis team relies on top playe
By Pete Borello, Town Crier Staff Writer
 p by Joe Hu/Town Crier Ting-Ting Liu is playing No. 1 singles for Los Altos High until Samantha Lam returns from an illness. |
Make no mistake about it: The success of this year’s Los Altos High girls tennis team rides on the return of top singles player Samantha Lam.
“Without her,” coach Cuong Duong said, “we can’t compete in our league.”
The sophomore standout played in the season opener - an easy win over Fremont - but has been out sick ever since. The Eagles got by Valley Christian-San Jose without Lam, then lost their first two SCVAL De Anza Division matches. Los Altos fell 6-1 at Los Gatos Sept. 13 and 4-3 to visiting Homestead last Thursday.
Singles is not a strength of this year’s team, according to Duong, as Lam is the only player who competes year-round. Without the nationally ranked Lam (USTA under-16s) in the lineup, Los Altos is weakened considerably by moving the other players up the ladder.
“(Among) the rest of the singles players, somebody needs to step up or I may have to bring up a JV player,” said Duong, in his ninth year as coach.
Until the hard-swinging Lam gets healthy, Ting-Ting Liu will play No. 1 singles. The sophomore “has gotten a little bit better” this year, Duong said, and has a formidable ground stroke. Liu played No. 3 singles for much of last season and is 2-2 in 2005.
Sara Pawloski follows Liu on the singles ladder. Duong said the senior is a solid player, despite her 0-3 record, but “she’s lacking self-confidence.”
Rachel Kellman climbs from No. 4 to 3 in Lam’s absence. The senior, who is 2-2, played doubles last year.
“She’s doing OK,” Duong said. “She needs to move her feet more and get more intense, but she has a good ground stroke.”
Another senior Sheila Emami, is filling in at the fourth spot.
Duong admitted he has yet to set his doubles lineup. The team of Gina Wong and Tessa Villasenor remain in competition with the duo of Carolyn Whitesell and Jennifer Yang for the top spot.
Wong played No. 2 doubles last year but not with Villasenor, a junior in her first season of varsity tennis. They played No. 2 against Los Gatos and accounted for the Eagles’ lone win, improving their record to 2-1.
“They’ve looked good so far,” Duong said.
Whitesell, a senior, and Yang, a junior, played together at No. 3 last year. They played at No. 1 vs. Los Gatos, their first match as a duo this season. Whitesell recently broke her left wrist, but the right-hander hasn’t let the injury slow her down much.
“The day after she got her cast, she was back out there,” Duong said. “She’s a tough girl.”
Seniors Tessa Ameri and Laura Beyer are at No. 3 doubles. They are off to a 3-1 start and lost a close match to Los Gatos.
“So far, so good,” Duong said.
If Los Altos hopes to be good enough to make the Central Coast Section playoffs, the coach said his team must place fourth or fifth in the mighty De Anza Division. Duong considers undefeated Saratoga, defending league champ Monta Vista and Los Gatos as the division’s top tier. He puts the Eagles - with Lam - in the next tier with Homestead and Palo Alto.
“Maybe fourth,” Duong said when asked where he expects Los Altos to finish. “That’s the goal.”
Los Altos is scheduled to host Pinewood at 3:30 p.m. today in a non-league match.
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