Thousand Oaks freshman Lin wins league tennis tournament
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

JPOWERFUL RETURN-Denis Lin returns a forehand smash.

Denis Lin doesn't bang his racket or yell at the umpire a la John McEnroe.

Lin isn't a fist pumper like Jimmy Connors and he doesn't deliver the ear-catching quote the way Andy Roddick can.

But one thing Lin does have in common with those three tennis stars is that he wins-a lot.

The 14-year-old Thousand Oaks freshman defeated teammate Robby Diamond (6-2, 6-1) during the singles final of the Marmonte League Tournament Tuesday afternoon at Moorpark High.

With the victory, Lin capped a first-year league campaign in which he lost only one set the entire season, to Moorpark's Drew Jacobs.

"Drew was the only guy I lost to in league," Lin said. "I was supposed to get to at least the finals, so I'm pretty happy about the win."

Diamond, a senior and the No. 5 seed entering the tournament, upset top-seeded Jacobs (7-6, 76) during the semifinals.

Beating Jacobs, a longtime friend, was a thrill Diamond said, adding that conjuring up the energy to defeat another top player just hours later proved to be too difficult a task.

"It's just too bad I had a little bit longer match than (Lin) did," Diamond said. "Otherwise the final may have been a little closer. But he's really good, especially for his age."

Diamond said he admires Lin's demeanor on and off the court.

"He's probably one of the quietest and most humble players I know," Diamond said. "Not only is he really good, but he doesn't have to show it. He shows it with his play."

In the third-place singles match, Calabasas' Ahmad Shiraz defeated Jacobs (7-6, 6-2).

"I actually expected to beat Lin in the semis," Shiraz said. "But today just wasn't my day. I kind of had to redeem myself in the third-place match. I guess I'm satisfied, but I'm not as happy as I wanted to be."

Jacobs said he came out slow in his semifinal match against Diamond and was never able to establish a rhythm as the day wore on. He said his goal is to return next year and win a league title.

"It's motivation to work harder," Jacobs said.

Lin and Diamond automatically qualify for the CIF-SS Sectionals Fri., May 19 at Cate High in Carpinteria.

All four players will represent their respective teams at the CIFSS Division I tournament beginning today. Thousand Oaks is the Marmonte League champion. Calabasas, Westlake, Moorpark and Agoura also qualified for the postseason.

In the Marmonte League doubles final, Agoura's Daniel Kane and Darren Dahl defeated teammates Mikie Coleman and Chapman Chan (7-5, 6-1).

Kane and Dahl were seeded third in the 16-team field.

Coleman and Chan were the top seeds entering the tournament. Both teams qualify for CIF.

Unlike the day's other matches, the doubles final was played at Agoura High.

In the third-place doubles match, Moorpark's Ryan Panaro and Shane McNulty defeated Simi Valley's Spencer Stendel and Adam Luong (6-4, 7-6).

Panaro said he and McNulty battled through fatigue all day.

"It was pretty good," Panaro said. "We had to play a lot of matches since arriving late yesterday. We were pretty tired, but we still played good."

Stendel and Luong are both sophomores. Luong said the two have made a lot of strides together this season and should be tough to beat in the future.

"We didn't even think we were going to get this far," Luong said.