Garrett Snyder

Barry Faulkner

For the better part of his youth, Garrett Snyder swung away at the

appearance of any weakness in his game. Devoted attention to his

forehand, backhand, serve and volley, as well as the proper mental

approach, ultimately helped him secure two team and two individual

CIF Southern Section championships, as well as his collegiate future

at the University of Texas.

But it wasn’t until about the midway point of his 19th year that

the Corona del Mar High senior tennis star directed his attention

toward his strength -- as in muscle.

“I just started working with a physical trainer about sixth months

ago,” said Snyder, who has added about 15 pounds of muscle to his

still-lithe 160-pound frame during that time. “I’ve worked with him

twice a week and it has really helped my game a lot.”

The added strength has particularly beefed up his serve, according

to CdM Coach Tim Mang, who said a blistering first serve is just one

more reason opponents frown on taking sides against Snyder.

“His serve is really big, compared to last year,” Mang said. He

can be a serve-and-volleyer if he wants to be and he has so many

shots, he can really mix players up. He is so smart, too, that’s

another advantage for him. He has the tennis brain of a veteran. Not

a lot of kids like to play Garrett.”

Playing, of course, is a better word than competing, since Snyder

completed his final prep campaign with a 55-0 record in dual matches.

“That’s never happened before,” said Mang, who notes about 90% of

the former two-time CIF doubles champion’s victories this spring were

in singles.

The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week helped the Sea Kings secure

their third section title in five years with a 14-4 trouncing of

Santa Barbara in the CIF Division I final Wednesday at the Claremont

Club. It was the storied program’s 10th CIF crown and, Snyder said,

supreme consolation to his valiant run to the final of the CIF

singles tournament, completed May 31.

Snyder, attempting to add a CIF singles crown to his

aforementioned doubles spoils, defeated top-seeded Jeffrey Das of

Troy, 6-3, 6-4, in the semifinals at SeaCliff Country Club in

Huntington Beach. Snyder, the No. 4 seed, then fell, however, to

unseeded Calabasas sophomore Gary Sacks, 6-1, 6-3, in the title

match.

The win over Das avenged losing a third-set tiebreaker in the Ojai

Valley Tennis Tournament earlier this season. But, with so much focus

on defeating Das, it also left Snyder uncharacteristically spent for

the singles final, which began about one hour after his semifinal

triumph.

“He only made about 10% of his first serves [in the final] and his

first serve has become a major part of his game,” Mang said.

There are, arguably, no minor parts to Snyder’s game, the result

of an all-around emphasis initiated by instructor Tim Pawsat, with

whom Snyder has worked since age 6.

“My whole goal is to not have a weakness,” said Snyder, known to

his teammates as G-man. “I think I have a two-dimensional game, and

not many kids my age are able to come to the net. A lot of the guys I

play like to battle from the baseline. I’ve always been taught to be

able to battle from the baseline and also attack the net. I think I’m

at my best when I’m coming to the net.”

Snyder’s best has helped CdM become the same. The Sea Kings

finished 24-0 and, Mang believes, Snyder’s contribution can’t be

overstated.

“He was the captain of our team this year and his whole thing has

always been the success of the team, more so than even his own

success,” Mang said. “I’ve used him in singles and doubles and he was

always willing to do whatever was best for the team.”

Snyder said he considers the CIF team title his ultimate

accomplishment this season. But he is also proud of his personal

performance.

“I’m very happy with the way I played as an individual and I’m

glad I was able to help the team be very successful,” he said.