TENNIS / DANA HADDAD : Boisclair Becomes Senior Member of the Area’s Juniors

Meilen Tu and Ania Bleszynski have moved on, passing the golden racket to Erin Boisclair.

Tu, 17, turned pro last October.

Bleszynski, 18, has just begun her freshman season at Stanford.

Since the age of 10, Boisclair has wanted to be the best. And now at 15 (her birthday was Jan. 16), some say she carries the promise of greatness.

“She could be in the top 20 in women’s professional tennis,” said Alan Ma, Boisclair’s coach.

But as Boisclair takes the throne as the area’s junior girls’ top player, might such expectations fall upon her shoulders like a load of sandbags?

Boisclair was staggered the last time she received this much recognition. It was last July. She was ranked No. 1 in the country entering the national girls’ 16-under tournament.

She finished eighth.

“I didn’t play my game once in that tournament,” she said. “It was a big learning experience. I’m capable of much more.”

Onward and upward.

The Agoura Hills resident has lived at the Palmer Tennis Academy in Tampa, Fla., since September and already has stepped up to international 18-under tournaments with some success.

“The key thing with Erin is to make her see the whole picture for her tennis,” said Ma, who has Boisclair working on a five-year plan of improvement. “The plan is between her and me. It’s our secret right now. The key thing is for her to understand that (her improvement) has to be progressive. A lot of very good players have difficulty without a long-term plan.”

Ma sees similarities between Boisclair and Tu, a near-overnight sensation who won three international junior tournaments and the national 18-under title before jumping to the pros at 16.

“They’re both very competitive,” Ma said. “But what we need to develop with Erin is to have real confidence.”

Boisclair (5 feet 8) is accustomed to dominating her opponents with both a powerful baseline game and a serve-and-volley attack. Many officials in the United States Tennis Assn. junior development program consider her a candidate for the 1996 U.S. Junior National team.

“But the ups and downs with the wins and losses is a very fragile thing with these players,” Ma said.

Boisclair agrees.

“I’m going to really focus on the mental side,” she said.

Early returns for 1995 look promising.

Boisclair reached the quarterfinals and the round of 16 in two International Tennis Federation tournaments this month. Her quarterfinal loss in the Coffee Bowl in Costa Rica came against eventual champion Barbara Schwartz of Austria. At the Reebok Bowl in Caracas, Venezuela, the following week, Boisclair beat the No. 2-seeded player but had to play again a few hours later and lost.

Boisclair said she succumbed to thin air and exhaustion--not pressure.

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The good life: Boisclair, who would have attended Agoura High, said she relishes academy life and her change of address will be semi-permanent.

“I feel rewarded that I was able to come here,” she said. “Everything’s there for me. The doors are open, and I just have to go through them now.”

Boisclair always has been self-motivated. While living at home, she would rise at 6 a.m. daily for a two-mile run, followed by wind sprints up and down the block. After school, she would spend three to four hours on the court.

At Palmer Academy, Boisclair, who shares a condo with three roommates, endures 12- to 14-hour days combining schoolwork and tennis.

“I don’t know if tennis academies are for everybody, but it’s right for Erin,” said her mother, Delores. “She doesn’t get homesick. She’s become a lot more mature and she’s more driven.

“Being over there and trying to balance school, it’s actually like going to college early.”

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Twins go international: Bob and Mike Bryan of Camarillo reached the pinnacle of their junior tennis careers last week by being selected to the U.S. Junior National team.

The twins, who will turn 17 on April 29, will be part of a seven-player team, competing in several international tournaments this year, including the Junior French Open, the Junior Wimbledon, the Junior Italian Open and the Junior U.S. Open.

“It’s been their dream since they were 10 years old, when the national team first started,” said Wayne Bryan, the twins’ father.

The boys have twice won national clay court championships in doubles and they are the first national team members from Ventura County.

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A Palm Springs Easter Bowl: In a major coup for Southern California, the annual Easter Bowl tournament will move to the Riviera Resort & Racquet Club in Palm Springs April 9-15.

The 28-year-old tournament, considered the biggest junior event in the country and the favorite of many players, has never been played on the West Coast and spent the past 10 years in Miami.

The Easter Bowl is considered the most prestigious national invitational event, second in importance only to the USTA national championships.

“It is the premier showcase for junior tennis in America, because it includes three age groups for both boys and girls,” said Wayne Bryan, a teaching pro who has built a burgeoning juniors program at Cabrillo Racquet Club in Somis.

Jim Hillman, director of junior tennis for the Southern California Tennis Assn., said that because of the proximity of the Easter Bowl, several area players who otherwise couldn’t afford to travel to Florida will play this year in Palm Springs.

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Mr. Smith comes to town: Tennis great Stan Smith will be the main attraction for a tennis extravaganza next Saturday at Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo.

Smith will conduct a clinic at 2 p.m. and perhaps play an exhibition set against club pro Sean Brawley, a fellow USC graduate who also played professionally.

“We’ve shared some USC war stories in the past,” Brawley said. “He’s a real nice guy.”

An excellent golfer, Smith will play in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am the following week.