Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Members of the Courtside boys 12's squad that won a NorCal team were (front row, l-r) Sam Essolat, Mathew Solomon, Steven Stege, Patrick Brogan, Jay Wong and Simon Cheng, and (back row, l-r) coach Tim Sunderland, coach Leah Thomas, Brian Brogan, Ted Hull, Aaron Klapper, Cameron Askew and coach Larry Parker.

Courtside kids win three Northern California titles

By Dick Sparrer

A heat wave hit Northern California early this month, and temperatures everywhere were topping the century mark.

But nowhere in Northern California does it get much hotter than it does in Sacramento... unless, of course, it's on a tennis court in Sacramento.

Temperatures reached the 120s on Sacramento area tennis courts during the week of Aug. 3-7 when young netters competed in the Northern California championships.

And in that blistering early August heat, no club was hotter than the Courtside Tennis Club.

Courtside won titles in six age divisions in Santa Clara County competition to qualify a half dozen teams for the NorCals. And three of those Courtside teams brought home Northern California championships.

By winning titles, the three Courtside squads have qualified for the Gar Glenney Cup state championships slated for Aug. 29-30 at UCLA.

The local girls 18's squad won a impressive fourth straight NorCal title, beating Ross Valley 5-4 in the final round.

Members of the Courtside team include Aruna Balakrishnan, Crystal Carrera, Michelle Forrest, Maren Thomas, Vanessa Zinn, Emily Najour, Daphnie Chen and Angela Chua. The team is coached by Mark Roberts.

The boys 12's blanked the Moraga Tennis Club 9-0 in the finals to claim a third straight NorCal title for Courtside. The squad is unbeaten in the playoffs with an impressive 27-0 record.

Team members include Sam Essolat, Mathew Solomon, Steven Stege, Patrick Brogan, Jay Wong, Simon Cheng, Brian Brogan, Ted Hull, Aaron Klapper and Cameron Askew. The coaches are Tim Sunderland, Leah Thomas and Larry Parker.

The Courtside girls 15's clinched a NorCal crown with a 5-4 victory over Alpine Hills.

Making up the team are Jennifer Barrier, Cristi Green, Alicia Hull, Anna Tran, Cindy Manit, Jessica Lowe, Jessica Cone, Sheetal Modi, Amanda Wise, Claire Najour, Megan Kawahara and Laura Chen. The coach is Tina Cseuz.

Courtside had teams competing in all six age divisions at the Northern California tournament after winning Santa Clara County area championships.

The girls 12's lost 6-3 to Sierra Swim and Racquet in the NorCal finals; the boys 15's lost 5-4 to Mission Hills in the semifinals; and the boys 18's lost lost 5-1 to Visalia in the quarterfinals.

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