Advantage, Collins

NEWPORT BEACH —  Corona del Mar Coach Tim Mang was busy watching his star, Taylor Dent, win the Southern Section individual singles title on a sunny June day in 1996. But if Mang had looked one court down at SeaCliff Tennis Club, he would have caught a glimpse of his future star, Parker Collins.

Collins was an unheralded freshman then, competing in the section doubles final with his La Canada High teammate Dave Willwerth. The unseeded team of Collins and Willwerth won the doubles title. But the story that day was Dent, a freshman phenom who reminded people of Pete Sampras, who won a section singles title as a sophomore at Palos Verdes High.

Two years later, Dent is playing the satellite circuit and Collins is playing in Dent’s old No. 1 singles spot. It’s almost as if Dent never left. Collins is 12-0 in dual sets, including a 6-4 victory over Beverly Hills senior Jose Lieberman, an old nemesis of Dent’s.

“Funny how that all worked out,” Mang said.

Funny, but not surprising, if you follow Corona del Mar’s tennis program, currently ranked No. 1 in Orange County.

Mang is accustomed to finding prized talents on his doorstep. Boris Turkich, an exchange student from Croatia, was a teammate of Dent’s and one of the top players in the county. There also have been other transfers with less prominent roles who have contributed to Corona del Mar’s success.

Mang, who spends many a weekend watching his players at junior tournaments, does not apologize for his program’s history of attracting high-profile transfers.

“Why should I?” said Mang, who also coaches the highly regarded Corona del Mar girls’ team. “Hopefully our program’s success has a lot to do with these kids wanting to play here. They see the program, they see the coach, they see the academics. And all the [tennis] clubs in the area are valuable too.”

Collins, whose father, Larry, owns a tennis wind screen company, said Corona del Mar’s reputation sold him and his father.

“I knew they had a good program and I had heard good things about the coach,” Collins said. “I was also impressed with the academics.”

Although Collins had nothing against La Canada’s tennis program, he said he needed a change of scenery.

“I was getting plenty of good competition up there, but there’s more variety here,” he said. “You’d have to drive 30 minutes or play with the same people all the time.”

Now that Collins resides in a housing development across from Park Newport Apartments, he can drive a few minutes and get all the competition he wants at the Palisades Club or the Balboa Bay Club. He’s been getting all the coaching he needs from Mang and Syd Ball, a pro at the Balboa Bay Club.

“It’s a perfect fit,” Mang said. “He’s a super kid. The kind of kid you want in your program. Great attitude, a great player.”

Collins said the new environment has done wonders for his game.

“Each year, my game gets better,” he said. “Being down in Orange County, it’s more of a tennis atmosphere. You’re more in the mood to play and it’s a lot more fun to get out on the court.”

When he’s on the court with Ball, Collins has been concentrating on improving his fledgling serve-and-volley game.

“I’ve always tried to be more aggressive,” Collins said. “But Syd has helped speed up my progress. If it’s under pressure, it’s still tough for me to serve and volley.”

But that attacking game is what helped him beat Lieberman, 6-4.

“I was serving well,” Collins said. “I tried to come to the net as much as I could. I figured I had nothing to lose. Nobody figured I’d win.”

Two weeks previously at a junior tournament in Whittier, Lieberman--one of the nation’s top 18-year-olds--defeated Collins, 6-4, 7-5.

“He had a little bit of self-doubt in Whittier,” Ball said, “but he was ready to play [Lieberman] for that school match. We did a lot of work on his serve and his forehand before that second match.”

And Ball said there is plenty more work to be done.

“He has beautiful action on his serve, it’s pretty smooth and flowing,” Ball said. “But he’s still learning how to play the game.”

Fortunately for Corona del Mar, Collins appears to be a quick study.