Just Being No. 2 Again Will Be Tough For San Marin Tennis Standout

The 2011 tennis season seems like a repeat for standout Josh Bernstein, and he’s not sure if that’s good or bad.

Bernstein had a fabulous freshman season a year ago, advancing to the Marin County Athletic League singles finals and then earning the first alternate’s spot on the North Coast Section entry list. Most sophomores would be happy with those achievements, but on the eve of the MCAL Championships, they have a feel of “been there/done that” to Bernstein.

“I’d like to beat him this time,” he said of Justin-Siena ace Michael Guzman, a fellow sophomore who won last year’s MCAL championship match 6-3, 6-4. “But it’s going to be tough.”

In fact, it’s going to be tough for Bernstein just to make the finals again. The draw for the single-elimination event Monday at Terra Linda High doesn’t come out until later this week, but he knows if he’s able to make the semifinals, a big-time challenge awaits him.

It’s possible Bernstein, who lost three matches during the MCAL season, could be seeded as low as No. 4. That would line up Guzman, the 10th-ranked player in the nation in his age division, as his probable semifinal opponent.

If he’s seeded second or third, he’d likely face Branson’s Alex Brenner, who already has beaten Bernstein twice this season, or Redwood’s Jonathan Pike in the semifinals, with Guzman undoubtedly waiting again in the finals.

All three potential foes are what you would call tennis “lifers” – kids who took up the sport at a very young age. Bernstein didn’t, which is considers to be a disadvantage now but someday could work in his favor.

“I’m glad I didn’t start earlier,” he said of first picking up a racket at age 11, well after he’d begun playing soccer and baseball. “It allowed me to play sports with my friends. None of them play tennis.

“Playing soccer allowed me to get my footwork. Then I got hand-eye coordination from baseball. Those things have helped me in tennis.”

Not enough to beat the likes of Guzman, but Bernstein knows there’s plenty of time for that to occur even if it doesn’t happen next week.

“I’d say one of the advantages I have is that these guys, because they have played so long, they’re used to playing one way, so it’s hard to change,” he noted. “I can change if I need to.”

San Marin coach Ryan Berberian agrees that potential growth in the sport is definitely an advantage Bernstein has over many of Marin’s top prep players.

“He probably has a ceiling that’s higher than most kids,” Berberian observed. “He’s still got a ways to go, but I think he understands where he’s at. The fact that he’s already playing 1-singles is pretty impressive.”

Bernstein says he plays tennis to have a good time and, hopefully, open some doors to college. He assured he was able to accomplish his first goal this season despite the team’s lackluster record.

“It’s a fun team. We had a good time out there,” he insisted. “We’re not like some of these other teams. Nobody is really serious if they lose. We just want to play tennis. And we get good competition, too.”

The best the MCAL has to offer quite possibly will be standing across the net next week. Bernstein has a game plan.

“If I stay focused, I’ll have a chance of being closer (than last year),” he said. “At some point I’d like to beat him, but it might be a while.

“I still have a lot of time to figure out how to play him.”

SAN MARIN TENNIS UPDATE

Final record: 2-10 in MCAL.

Highlights: The Mustangs had sophomores in three of the top four singles positions this season: Josh Bernstein, Jackson Grover and Nick Grech … Both of the team’s league wins came against Novato.

Coach Ryan Berberian’s comments: “We had a great bunch of kids. We just don’t have the depth of talent the other schools have to draw from.

“Our biggest problem, year in and year out, is we have some good players at the top of our lineup, but we don’t have the depth that Redwood and Tam and some other schools have -- kids who have been playing tennis for years and years. We have a few, but not nearly as many as they do.”

Coach Berberian’s comments on Nick Grech: “He was 8, 9 or maybe 10 on the depth chart last year. This year he played No. 4 and he was able to beat some players that kinda surprised me. A lot of his matches went to third-set tiebreakers and he would pull them out. It was pretty impressive.”

Upcoming schedule: MCAL Individual Championships, May 2, at Terra Linda.