The Courtside Boys' 12-and-under team won the NorCal title. Team members included (front row, l-r) Garrett Wyatt, Daniel Soloman, A.J. Kerin and Brian Brogan, and (back row, l-r) Adam Fauvre, Eric Huang, Victor Larsson, Bastion Bartels and Ashvin Soin.
By Dick Sparrer
Things were looking dark.
It was the Northern California Junior Team Tennis finals, and Courtside Tennis Club was battling Alpine Hills for the title in the Girls' 15 division.
The match was going right down to the wire, and things were starting to look dark for the girls from Courtside.
But don't get the wrong idea. Things were looking dark for the girls from Alpine Hills, too. Because it was 8 p.m.--it was getting dark for everyone at the San Jose State University tennis courts.
For Courtside, though, it was a very bright evening indeed, thanks to a glowing performance by Camille Behnke.
Behnke backed up a win at No. 1 singles when she teamed with Crystal Carrera for a doubles victory to help Courtside clinch a thrilling 5-3 win in the title match.
It was one of three championships won by Courtside teams in the Northern California finals. The local club also claimed titles in Girls' 18 and Boys' 12-and-under competition.
League champions from all over Northern California participated in the finals in the 18, 15 and 12-and-under age divisions for boys and girls.
Courtside sent a record seven teams into the competition, and three brought home titles. The champions will now advance to the state finals Aug. 24-25 at UCLA, playing teams from Southern California.
The Courtside Girls' 15 squad will be out to defend the state title it won a year ago. Courtside's Girls' 18s won the NorCal crown a year ago, but lost at the state finals.
Behnke, who starred at Saratoga High School last fall, led the Girls' 15 squad to the team title at the NorCal finals. She had won 6-0, 7-6 at No. 1 to highlight Courtside's solid 4-2 edge in singles play.
But the locals needed at least one win in doubles play to claim the championship. And after Anna Hehenberger and Natalie Ackerman lost at No. 1 doubles, the pressure fell on the shoulders of Behnke and Carrera.
The twosome came through with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles to give Courtside all the cushion it needed to secure the crown.
Hehenberger helped support Behnke's effort with a 7-6, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles. Angela Chua won 6-4, 7-6 at No. 4 singles and Amanda Wise won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6.
Ackerman lost a 6-2, 6-0 nod at No., 2 singles and Carrera lost a three-set heartbreaker at No. 5, falling 6-2, 3-6, 7-6.
Chua and Wise teamed up at No. 3 doubles, but their match was suspended when Behnke and Carrera won to clinch the team victory.
Things were much easier for the Courtside Girls' 18 entry. The girls managed to "go through the tournament relatively unchallenged," Courtside coach Tim Sunderland said.
Courtside clinched the championship with a 5-2 win over Alpine Hills behind double-winner Tracy Moore.
Moore was a winner at No. 6 singles, and she joined forces with Stephanie Leupp for a victory at No. 3 doubles.
Robyn Katzman nailed a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles and Leah Thomas won 6-0, 6-1 at N. 4 singles. Maren Lassner chipped in with a victory at No. 5 singles for Courtside.
Tina Cseuz lost a tough 6-2, 6-4 decision at No. 2 singles and Malea Doore dropped a 6-2, 6-2 nod at No. 3.
Later, Cseuz was named the winner of Courtside's Todd Hoo Memorial Award. Cseuz, a Los Gatos graduate who will attend UC-Davis in the fall, is "a tremendous tennis player with a phenomenal attitude," Sunderland said.
The Girls' 15 and Girls' 18 teams were repeat winners at NorCals, and they were joined on the victory stand this summer by the Boys' 12-and-under squad.
Courtside swept all six singles matches on the way to a 7-2 win over Gold River in the finals.
A.J. Kerin and Adam Fauvre were two-timers for Courtside, winning in both singles and doubles play. Kerin nailed a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles, and Fauvre came through with a thrilling 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 three-set win at No. 4 singles. Later they joined forces for an 8-1 victory at No. 3 doubles.
Bastion Bartels led the way for Courtside with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles and Garrett Wyatt won 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2 singles.
Eric Huang posted a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles and Daniel Soloman wrapped up the sweep with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph at No. 6 singles.
Bartels and Ashvin Soin lost a tough 8-6 decision at No. 1 doubles, and Wyatt and Huang lost by the same score at No. 2 doubles. Victor Larsson and Brian Brogan dropped a 9-8 heartbreaker in an extra's match.
The Courtside Girls' 18 "B" team won a match before dropping a 6-3 decision to Alpine Hills in the quarter-finals. Tori Robertson and Anna Tran each won singles matches. Elizabeth Najour, Emily Najour, Vanna Tran and Claire Najour were other members of the Courtside squad.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, August 21, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved