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The girls 15 squad from Courtside took the Northern California title. Members of the team include (front row, l-r) Belinda Rungsea, Cindy Manit, Katrina Lebedeva (sitting) and Alicia Hull, and (back row, l-r) Megan Kawahara, Cristi Green, Laura Boskovich and Jennifer Berrier.
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Courtside tennis teams win titles
By Dick Sparrer
No individual tennis center has ever won four titles in the same season at the Northern California Tennis Association championships.
Never, that is, until this year.
The Courtside Tennis Club sent five of six teams to the NorCal finals at the Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento, and four brought home titles to advance to the state championships.
The Courtside girls swept the Northern California competition, winning championships in the 12, 15 and 18 age divisions. Courtside also won the title in the boys 15 division, made it to the finals in boys 18 and reached the semifinals in boys 12.
All six Courtside teams qualified for NorCals by winning Santa Clara County titles.
The four teams that won top NorCal honors will now battle the champs from Southern California in the Gar Glenney Cup at Stanford University on Aug. 21-22.
The girls 18 team blanked Silicon Valley 6-0 in the finals to claim Courtside's fifth straight Northern California championship in the division.
Liora Gelbum (Monta Vista) started Courtside on the road to victory with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles. Camille Behnke (Saratoga) backed that up with an exciting come-from-behind 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles.
Amanda Wise (Saratoga) nailed a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles, Emily Najour (St. Francis) won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4 singles, Kathy Fawcett (Harbor) won 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 and Laura Chen (Leland) won 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6.
Courtside will go after its first-ever state title in the girls 18 division this weekend.
The Courtside girls 18 tennis team won the NorCal title. Team members include (front row, l-r) coach Mark Roberts, Melanie Lavaute, Camille Behnke and Sarah Delva; (middle row, l-r) Laura Chen, Vanessa Zinn, Natalie Ackerman and Amanda Wise; and (back row, l-r) Kathy Fawcett, Emily Najour, Clair Najour, Mo Rastegar and Liora Gelbum.
The girls 15 squad, however, will be gunning for a repeat of last year's state championship performance when it competes at Stanford this weekend.
Courtside won the NorCal crown in the division with an 8-1 win over Sierra Sport & Racquet of Fresno.
Laura Boskovich (St. Francis) aced her foe 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1 singles and Belinda Rungsea (Lynbrook) won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2. Cindy Manit (Woodside) won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3, Alicia Hull (Los Gatos) won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4 and Cristi Green (Los Gatos) won 7-6, 6-4 at No. 5.
Rungsea and Manit teamed for an 8-3 victory at No. 1 doubles. Boskovich and Jennifer Berrier (Los Gatos) won 8-2 in No. 2 and Green and Katrina Lebedeva (Los Gatos) won 8-1 at No. 3.
The only loss of the day came at No. 6 singles, when Megan Kawahara (St. Francis) dropped a tough 7-5, 6-4 decision.
Courtside outlasted Alpine Hills of Palo Alto 6-3 in the girls 12 finals, and it took a couple of hard-earned three-set victories to help the locals pull out the win.
Serena Lin won 7-6, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 1 singles and Courtny Hull won 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 4 singles.
Caroline Stege cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles, Maddie Rozwat won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 and Julie Cone won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 6. Chelsea Green and Sammy Kawahara teamed for an 8-4 win at No. 3 doubles.
Lin and Michelle Watson dropped a tough 9-7 nod at No. 1 doubles and Katie Wittwer and Anita Athaval lost a close 8-5 decision at No. 2.
The Courtside boys 15 squad whipped the Future Stars of Modesto 8-1 to win a NorCal championship and a state berth.
Bastien Bartels (Monta Vista) pulled out a tight 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles and Adam Fauvre (Leigh) won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2.
Garrett Wyatt (Saratoga) was a 6-3, 6-3 winner at No. 3 singles, Steven Golod (Menlo) won 6-3, 7-6, at No. 4 and Slavy Ellenkov (Monta Vista) won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5.
Bartels and Golod later combined for an 8-1 win at No. 1 doubles, Fauvre and Ellenkov won 8-2 at No. 2 and Wyatt and Charles Moreton (Los Gatos) won at No. 3 doubles.
Robin Das (St. Francis) went three sets before losing a 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 heartbreaker at No. 6 singles.
The boys 18 team from Courtside made it to the finals, but lost a 5-4 thriller to the Modesto Racquet Club. Seven of the nine matches went three sets.
Ben Bartels (Monta Vista) won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 singles and joined forces with Nick Cirigliano (Homestead) for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles.
Ryan Fujii (Monta Vista) went three sets for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles for Courtside, and Stefan Parker (Monta Vista) and Jayson Tsui (Monta Vista) won 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 at No. 1 doubles.
Ngon Huynh (St. Francis) dropped a disappointing 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 decision at No. 1 singles, and Parker lost in three sets at No. 2, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6. Tsui fell 6-4, 6-3 at No. 3 and Cirigliano lost a cliffhanger 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6.
Huynh and Fujii went three sets before losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2 doubles.
The boys 12 team from Courtside lost to Rolling Hills of Sacramento in the NorCal semifinals.
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