Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies - Excalibur Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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Going for the casual ace — Kevin Wright, tenth grad- er, displays his awesome tennis skills. So advanced in his game. Kevin Wright feels quite blase about play- ing with his inferior teammates, but is able to still enjoy his game. Hey you watch out — Here comes the tennis ball. Recklessly playing without a teacher around. Rene Min takes a chance and swings. He is an avid tennis player, who practices daily. P.E. enables him to gain strength. hirtv-love What ' s love got to do with it? Anyone for tennis ' Mr. Becker ' s fifth pe- riod class is and it ' s not just any P.E. class. It is a class full of students aspiring to be- come Wimledon champions, and French and American Open winners. Tennis is a game, partially of stamina, in which the participants must be physically fit in order to play well throughout the en- tire match. One may cover a numerous amount of round running back and forth and side to side throughout six sets. I get tired sometimes when the other guy hits the ball all over the place. You have to be a good athlete to make it to the ball in time to send it back over the net. You also have to outsmart the other guy, said tenth grader, Kevin Wright. One ' s mind must also be alert and re- sponsive. The brain only has a split second to be attentive and take in all data neces- sary to calculate the next move. It must consider distance, velocity, position of the sun, size of the court, size and strength of the racket, and the position of the opponent along with their size and reaction time. Preparing for a tennis match I primar- ily psyche myself up as well as going over the plays in my head, said senior, Tommy Nohavundi. An added incentive for students to join the tennis team is the 3 A league. By playing in this league the tennis team encounters challenging opponents from numerous high schools such as Monroe, Marshall, Holly- wood. Van Nuys and many more. In the future I would like to play profes- sional tennis against the great ones. With all the hard work and practice I think that I ' m good enough. Especially now that our tennis team is 3A, there would be more recognition for me, said eleventh grader Ali Zahedi. Tennis players ' health and minds are also accompanied by the skills they have devel- oped and by the drills Mr. Becker has taught them. But dreams, aspirations, and numerous practice sessions are also key mo- tivators of young tennis players, by Lea Jayasinghe What qualities are needed to be a suc- cessful tennis player and how do they en- hance the sport? Ke in Wright — a successful tennis pla. er must be both an intellectual strat- egist and a strong athlete, many people don ' t realize that. I guess that ' s why I enjo) it so much, it ' s mentally and phys- icall challenging. Come on make it over the net — Michael Barcohana and tennis buddie. .4lon Shamir do some intense prac- tice to sharpen their tennis skills before a competition. Mr. Becker, a determined coach, stands by to watch their every move. Tennis Sports 33

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INSIDE SPORTS Me and my shadow — This young tennis player hopes to be like John McEnroe someday, so he takes time to practice his swings and serves. During P.E. he has the advantage to learn some new techniques. SOCES 61 Monroe 68 SOCES 62 Jefferson 92 SOCES 92 Downtown 79 SOCES 68 Locke 51 SOCES 43 Van Nuys 69 SOCES 51 Marshall 65 SOCES 81 Pius X 43 SOCES 83 Si. Monicas 100 SOCES 53 Muir 76 SOCES 65 Locke 53 SOCES 6! Lincoln 70 SOCES 67 Hollywood 58 SOCES 61 Belmont 79 SOCES 61 Bus. Magnet 65 SOCES 41 Verdugo Hills 35 SOCES 49 Wilson 69 SOCES 46 Eagle Rock 74 SOCES 45 Franklin 69 SOCES 52 Verdugo Hills 42 SOCES 62 Wilson 61 54 Tennis Sports Tennis Team {left to right) front row: Ali Zahedi. Brian Sweet. Nell Janis, Renee Min. James Cheung. Jeff IVeishach. Michael Barchohana. .Alon Shamir. Coach Mac Beckkr. Back row: .Adam Tenn. Oleg Ka- spar. Tommy Nohavandi. Chris Giroux. Bran Gon- sor. Moran Haddad. Tom Sobelman. Kevin Wright.

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INSIDE SPORTS I think I can, I think I can — Louis Gigliotli is running in a cross country race at Griffith Park. The run went all over the Park for two and a half miles. It consisted of junior varsity and varsity. Scoreboard Oxidental CSUN Van Nuys Relays Long Beach Wilson Mt. Sac Relays Track and Field Team members are — Larry Reagon. Daron Vinson. Eaaron Oanz. Shawn Lau. Donnel Boss. Chris Girou.x, Lakesia Stokes. Nellin Flowers. Sophia Rivas. Daniel Foster. .Arturo Rodriguez. Bi-Kimba Wright. Bwana Johnson. Chontel Hunter. Javier Hernandez. Kiea Paschal. Louis Gigliotti. Ramiro Garcia. — These are the athletes that are actively competing on the Track Team. We have done very well for being such a new school to compete in Track and Field events. C ' Track 0 J Sports