Brittany Holland

Steve Virgen

There’s much more to life than tennis for Brittany Holland.

She has plenty of other duties to take care of, rather than

hitting a small, green ball over a net. The Corona del Mar High

senior sometimes has an itinerary with her, and she definitely has a

daily planner. She needs it.

The 17-year-old is the co-editor of the school paper. She is

taking on three Advance Placement courses, Spanish, English and

calculus. She is also involved in a club, Tolerance Among People,

which intent is to eliminate prejudice and discrimination at CdM. She

also performs charity work for the Assistance League, volunteering at

a thrift shop or a dental clinic.

Last month, she made recruiting trips to Boston College, Princeton

and Dartmouth, and in August she went on unofficial visits to Rice

and Georgetown.

And, Holland also plays tennis for the Sea Kings, as the team’s

No. 1 singles player.

“She has had to come to grips with a lot activities,” CdM Coach

Scott Feichter said. “I don’t think she had a lot of fun until the

last two weeks. It looks like she’s enjoying herself now and enjoying

her time with the team. She’s been so distracted with so much going

on. But it’s really been great for her the past few weeks.”

Just about everything was great for Holland last week. The Daily

Pilot Athlete of the Week dropped just three games and won her three

sets in helping lead the Sea Kings to a 16-2 win over Tesoro, Oct. 7.

Then, two days later she swept again at No. 1 singles in a 13-5

victory over University.

This season, Holland is 24-3, after sweeping in two dual matches

this week.

“I’ve been going to practice, hitting with the girls and playing

the matches,” said Holland, who is ranked No. 88 in United States

Tennis Association girls 18s and 34th in Southern California. “It’s

been a great year for me. It’s all been great.”

Holland has also enjoyed success because of her concentration on

accuracy, not only on the court, but also off it. She said she spent

10-15 hours aside from school work to edit the school paper, which

comes out monthly and made its 2003-04 debut last week.

Her attention to detail is also useful on the court.

“With Brittany, it’s all about skill and being efficient,”

Feichter said. “I’m trying to get the other girls to watch that. I

see her as the team mentor.”

Holland was prepared for her role as leader. During the summer,

she advanced to the Round of 64 in the USTA national clay court

tournament. She also showed improvement in the national hard courts,

winning three of her five matches and performing well in front of

several college scouts.

“I really improved my game over the summer,” Holland said. “I’ve

been playing at a high level and been trying to stay on that level.

It’s been hard with all the things I’ve been doing. But I’ve been

trying to maintain that level of where it was at during the summer.”

Holland’s efforts during the summer led her to the recruiting

trips this fall. She enjoyed her time at each stop, but it seems she

has narrowed her choice between Princeton or Dartmouth.

“I’m just trying to make the right decision,” said Holland. “It’s

very difficult.”