Sage Hill tennis coach Longoria fighting cancer

Anselmo Gregorio Longoria, the only head coach the Sage Hill School boys’ and girls’ tennis programs have ever known, appeared frisky Wednesday afternoon at The Tennis Club.

Everyone knows Longoria as just “A.G.” and everyone knows how much he means to the Lightning tennis teams, which have combined for two CIF Southern Section titles and nine Academy League crowns.

Longoria, who will turn 70 in December, seemed fine as he played doubles with the members of the Sage boys’ tennis team. But his voice strained and squeaked as he spoke to them, and he has visibly lost weight.

“He’s got to gain some weight,” said Longoria’s girlfriend of eight years, Cindy Ciavola. “He lost 11 pounds in two weeks. I’d be happy with that, but [the doctors are] not too thrilled.”

Longoria did not lose the weight as part of some new dieting trend. He lost it because he has been going through chemotherapy and radiation for the last four weeks, after doctors found a growth on the left side of his neck to be cancerous.

Longoria was referred to an ears, nose and throat doctor in early January after telling his general practitioner of a slight hearing loss. The doctor, checking his hearing, found the growth on his neck (lymph node).

After being sent to a nephrology and endocrinology doctor, Longoria was referred to an otolaryngology (ears, nose and throat) specialist. Three days later, on Jan. 15, Longoria was informed that it was cancer.

A subsequent PET scan found no cancer anywhere else in his body. This was confirmed by a second opinion from Dr. Kambiz Afrasiabi of UC Irvine, whose daughter, Donna, is currently a sophomore at Sage Hill.

“The good news is, it was found incredibly early,” Longoria said. “The bad news is, it could be so small yet that it can’t be seen on the screens. But they think [the cancer] is somewhere between [my cheeks] and my neck. That’s why it’s all burnt. They have to radiate all of this.”

Longoria is undergoing seven weeks of radiation and chemotherapy at Saddleback Memorial Hospital in Mission Viejo. The radiation is for 15 minutes a day, five days a week and the chemotherapy takes place every Monday. He just completed his fourth week and said he’s doing fine, at least so far. The tumor looks and feels to be smaller.

“I just sort of check in with [Sage Hill Athletic Director] Megan [Cid], I say I can do this, or I can’t do that,” Longoria said. “Up until now, it’s been kind of OK, but I can kind of tell that it’s going to get gnarly here ... My skin’s going to get really, really raw.”

A feeding tube has been installed, though Longoria has not yet had to use it.

“Right now I can’t taste hardly anything, and it’s hard to eat when you can’t taste anything,” he said. “My throat is raw. My hearing, taste and fine motor skills are a bit off. [The doctors] encourage me to do as much as I can, but not push it.”

Longoria has had to make other sacrifices. He wasn’t able to attend when he was inducted into the University of Texas Pan American Athletics Hall of Fame on Feb. 28, although family members made a life-size cutout of Longoria for the dinner and also read his induction speech. Longoria played one season at UTPA and also coached the tennis team there for three years in the late 1970s.

Longoria has spent a much longer time, 15 years now, at Sage Hill. Ciavola has provided support as much as she can during Longoria’s current battle, driving Longoria around and making sure he eats every hour. She and Longoria also are able to find a bit of humor in the situation.

Longoria now has a black cord over the front of his torso, which runs from the hearing aids in his ears to his phone.

“The kids all think it’s part of his chemotherapy,” Ciavola said, which makes Longoria also smile.

“Everybody thinks it’s a breathing thing or something,” he said. “They’re like, ‘Oh my God, are you going to live?’ But it’s a Bluetooth.”

The impact to the Sage boys’ tennis team has been minimal, which is a credit to everyone involved. Longoria told Cid and Sage Hill President Gordon McNeill of his prognosis as soon as possible. The hiring of an extra coach, former USC player Bruce Sanborn, was approved, along with another team manager.

Longoria feels confident with Sanborn and his other assistant coach, former BYU player Mark Watkins, helping to run the show. It hasn’t seemed to deter the Lightning, who are 7-3, 4-0 in the Academy League, as well as ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 coaches’ poll.

The only other Academy League team ranked in the poll is No. 8 Crean Lutheran, which is tied for first in league with Sage. The teams play April 20 at Crean Lutheran and May 1 at The Tennis Club.

Sage Hill, with a trio of very strong players in junior Kenan Torlic and sophomores Adam Langevin and Omead Moini, is confident.

“The sheer firepower on the singles side, combined with the doubles that we have already, it’ll be enough,” Langevin said. “I’m confident that it will be enough. League, I’m almost positive we’ll win. CIF, it’s going to be a battle, but it is a winnable one.”

Of course, everyone is also rooting for Longoria in his fight against cancer. Not that it’s a constant focus for the Lightning.

“Honestly, if you look at A.G. right now, there’s no setback,” Moini said. “I don’t see a setback. I don’t see an illness; I don’t see anything that’s in his way. We’re working hard for the team, and we’re working hard for the coach ... The only times he talks about [the cancer] is when he’s trying to get a point across.”

Longoria appreciates the support that he’s received from the Sage Hill community, but he also continues to work hard. He is proud that Torlic, Langevin and Moini will all play in at the prestigious 115th annual Ojai Tennis Tournament beginning April 23, with Langevin in singles and Torlic and Moini as a doubles team. It’s the first time in years that Sage has had three players participating. Longoria hopes to be able to make the trip, though he said Watkins would go if he can’t.

The future for Sage Hill tennis appears bright, too. Longoria said the plan is for tennis courts to be built on-campus at Sage Hill by next spring, in time for the 2016 boys’ tennis season. The six courts, including two stadium courts, will be constructed next to the football field.

“It’s beautiful,” Longoria said. “It’s going to be unbelievable.”

The passion is still there.

The cancer isn’t taking that away.