Haley to serve Breakers in year two
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PATRICK LAVERTY
Jim Haley, not Jim Healy as he was mistakenly identified in a news
brief last week, was introduced as the new general manger of the
Newport Beach Breakers Wednesday at Palisades Tennis Club, the home
of the local World Team Tennis franchise.
The director of tennis at SeaCliff Country Club in Huntington
Beach for the past 20 years, Haley began work in early December as
the Breakers march toward their second season in World Team Tennis.
A familiar face on the local tennis scene -- in addition to his
work at SeaCliff, he is responsible for creating and chairing the
Annual Top Gun Tennis Tournament and is an original board member of
the Private Tennis Club Association -- Haley was impressed with the
turnout at his welcoming party.
“There was a lot of support from people involved with the
Breakers’ first season,” Haley said.
Haley’s job is to increase that support over the next six months
before the second season begins in July.
“I think the one thing we’re going to attempt to do is change the
perception of the team, maybe not the perception, but we’re going to
try to get the name of the Breakers out into the community a little
more,” Haley said.
Helping Haley in that task will be Coach Dick Leach, who will
return for a second season, Haley said. The former USC tennis coach
will help put a face to the Breakers prior to the April 7 player
draft.
“Hopefully, we can have the tennis community look at the Breakers
as their home team and cheer them on like they would a baseball
team,” Haley said.
The league, run by Billie Jean King, will continue to own the
franchise and while Haley has not been guaranteed anything more than
this year, his job is to make sure the Breakers have the support
needed to make Newport Beach and Palisades Tennis Club a permanent
home for World Team Tennis in Southern California.
“I think they’re very serious about making this team work here,”
Haley said. “I think they saw the promise of this area last summer.
Now I think they want to make a bigger push this year.”
*
Taylor Dent, a former Corona del Mar High standout and a name
Haley certainly wouldn’t mind seeing associated with the Breakers
later this summer, fell to top-seeded Andy Roddick in the third round
of the Australian Open Friday.
After strong jumps in the rankings in each of the last four years,
Dent looks primed to make a big splash on the ATP Tour this year and
more than a few thought that might happen as early as this week, with
ESPN commentators predicting that Dent could give Roddick a run for
his money.
But after Dent took a 2-1 lead in the first set, Roddick showed
why he is the No. 1 player in the world, running off five straight
games to win the first set, blanking Dent in the second and taking a
6-2, 6-0, 6-2 victory.
It was the second straight major in which Dent has fallen to the
No. 1 seed. The 22-year-old performed well against Andre Agassi in
the fourth round of the U.S. Open in August before retiring due to
injury.
In his current position -- he was seeded No. 27 at the Aussie --
Dent will have to upset one of the top seeds in a major to get out of
the third or fourth round. His next opportunity to make a big splash
will come in the French Open, beginning May 24.
*
Palisades and the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club will play host the
Southern California Tennis Association Grand Prix Senior Masters next
week.
Play will begin at Palisades Feb. 4 in the 60-and-over divisions
and wrap up Feb. 6.
Local players involved include: Ron Hextel (Newport Beach Tennis
Club) and Pete Smith (Palisades), 60 doubles; Gene Nalbandian
(Newport Beach), 60 doubles; Irv Goldberg (Palisades) and Jerry
Robinson (Palisades), 65 doubles; Bill Hyde (Palisades) and Dick Doss
(Newport Beach), 65 doubles; John Peterson (Palisades), 70 doubles;
Jerry Greer (Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club), 80 singles; and Kathy
Hall (Newport Beach), women’s 75 singles.
Play at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club will include the 40, 45,
50 and 55 divisions and will begin Feb. 6.
Local entrants include: Peter Davidson (Palisades), 40 singles and
doubles; Kim Vieira (Palisades), 45 singles and doubles; Dexter
Godbey (Corona del Mar), 55 singles; and Anne Folks (Palisades), 50
singles.
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