Boys’ tennis: Division III final boasts plenty of star power

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We’re about an hour away from the start of the Southern Section-Toyota boys’ tennis championships here at the Claremont Club, and the first match might be the most competitive of the day.

Brentwood and Beverly Hills clash for the Division III crown, and both programs are accustomed to being here. The top-seeded Eagles (17-6) are making their 11th consecutive appearance in the finals, while second-seeded Beverly Hills (20-4) is making its third trip in four seasons.

This confrontation not only pits two of the Southland’s deepest teams against each other, but also features two of the area’s best coaches in Brentwood’s Lee Herzog and Beverly Hills’ Mike Margolin. It’ll be interesting to see how each of these master strategists arranges his lineup.

In the CIF’s 18-set (nine singles and nine doubles) round-robin format, every point counts and the first rotation, where players in each position go head to head, should go a long way toward determining which team ultimately comes out on top.

-- Steve Galluzzo