Dave Assorson knows a little something about winning a section tennis championship.

In June, Assorson coached the Thousand Oaks High boys’ team to a CIF-Southern Section Division I title, the school’s first section crown in tennis.

Five months later, Assorson is back in the playoffs, this time with the Lancer girls’ squad.

“It’s a tough assignment,” Assorson said. “We don’t have quite the strength the boys had, but I think we can make a fairly deep run into the tournament. . . .

“These girls have been very good this season, but once you get into the CIF playoffs in Round 2, Round 3 and Round 4, things get really tough.”

Marmonte League champion Thousand Oaks (15-2) opens the Division I playoffs today at home against Huntington Beach (8-6).

In other Division I action, Westlake (15-4), which tied Simi Valley for second place in the Marmonte, will play Mission League champion HarvardWestlake (14-2) on the road.

Simi Valley (16-3) travels to Mira Costa (11-6-1).

Thousand Oaks’ strength is its singles players. Senior Tara Erb and a pair of freshmen, Alison Ho and Melissa Baker, combined for a 108-13 record in league competition, the coach said.

“I’m tremendously proud of these girls,” Assorson said. “Our success was a pleasant surprise, and a lot of it is due to the two freshmen that came in and helped us out. And Tara, of course, was Tara. She’s been first-team allleague for four years.”

During this week’s Marmonte League Tournament, Erb and Baker teamed up to claim the league’s doubles crown. Both are expected to return to singles action in the postseason.

The Lancers’ top doubles pairing during the regular season was Veronica Lin and Kathryn Stueckle. The duo posted a 28-6 record.

At Westlake, the story all season long has been the spectacular play of freshman Sivan Krems.

According to Warrior head coach Connie Flanderka, Krems went 57-0 during the regular season. The young star also captured the Marmonte singles title on Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Ho, the freshman from TOHS.

With Krems’ domination expected to carry over into the playoffs, Flanderka is looking for other Warriors to elevate their games as well.

“I really feel like we have a shot at beating Harvard-Westlake if the kids come to play,” Flanderka said. “Our biggest thing is closing things out. We’re young, especially in doubles, and they just need to be able to close things out.”

Senior Tiffany Loh is the Warriors’ No. 2 singles player behind Krems. She’s being counted on for leadership and points.

In the Division 3 bracket, TriValley League champion La Reina (11-4) plays host to Long Beach Poly (10-7). The match will be played at Pacific Tennis Club in Westlake.

Sophomores Hilary West and Terra Bjerken are top singles players for La Reina. West won the Tri-Valley League singles title, finishing with a 36-3 record in TVL competition.

Senior Annie Shao and junior Laurel Rodewald form a potent doubles combination for the Regents.

“We’re excited because I had no expectations that my team would win league this year and we ended up going undefeated again,” La Reina head coach Bowie Hahn said. “That’s two seasons in a row, and we’re 20-0.”

Liberty League champion Viewpoint (14-1) opens the Division 5 bracket by hosting Orange (11-7).

All matches are slated to begin at 2 p.m. Check www.cifss.org for up-to-date match times and locations.