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Published on 06/02/1997 All articles from this issue

Mike Duong

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Athlete of the Week

This Los Altos High sophomore tennis player breezed through the opening rounds of the Central Coast Section singles tournament last week before losing in the semifinals. To gear up for the section championships, Duong won the 16-year-old division of the Junior Excellence Tournament two weeks ago in Sacramento.

"He was on fire," said Eagle Coach Cuong Duong, Mike's uncle. He added that Mike, ranked No. 3 at the Junior Excellence, beat the top seed in the semifinals and could net the No. 1 NorCal 16s ranking with a top-notch performance at the upcoming Sectional Tournament in Tiburon.

In the CCS tourney, Duong (23-4 overall) beat opponents from Bellarmine and Leland by scores of 6-4, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-1, respectively.

"He pretty much dominated. He was steady, consistent and waited for the opponent to hit a short ball so he could put it away," the coach said.

But it was No. 1 seed Nick Fustar of Monta Vista who defeated No. 6-ranked Duong in the CCS semifinals by a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 count.

According to Coach Duong, Mike played a fine second set against Fustar and has a shot at winning the section title next season.

The sophomore netter stands at 5-foot-6, 120 pounds now, and should get better and stronger over the next year, the coach said.

"That's the scariest thing for the other guys (opponents)."