Mar Vista Girls' Tennis Win Championship Without Tennis Courts

"She's only a sophomore and she's going to end up being a #1 seed in our conference playoffs next week and she's a hell of a player," Coach Keith Barksdale said.

Karen Lopo and Jenyka Paguia are also expected to do well in doubles play as playoff matches scheduled to begin Oct. 29.

Success came to the team without a home court.

Mar Vista High School has not had tennis courts since the New Gym was built. Team practices were held at Southwest High School and every game was on the road.

"You don't have a home. And you want to have that comfort of having a home court advantage. We never really had that so I guess that made us tougher because we knew we would always be on the road," Barksdale said.

In spite a near perfect team record, Barksdale believes home court advantage may have tipped the scales in favor of Mar Vista in two close games against Sweetwater High School.

"We really could have used a home game against Sweetwater cause that was our toughest match," he said. "It would have made a big difference with our fans there thats a big difference."

Clarification: The original version of this story cited Coach Keith Barksdale as saying that Mar Vista High School Girls' Tennis has not won a league championship in more than 20 years, however Mar Vista High School Girls' Tennis has never won a league championship, according to Athletic Director William Olinger.