Montclarion
May 1, 1992
Like Father, like son
by Peter Mentor
- Twenty-seven years after dad Steven's title, Skyline's Chris Cornell brings the OAL
singles title back to the family.
Skyline sophomore Chris Cornell is playing in his father's footsteps, and if his
younger brother follows through it could be d�j� vu all over again.
Cornell won the Oakland Athletic League tennis singles title 6-2, 6-0 over teammate
Marc Chinn in an all-Titan final on Wednesday at Davies Tennis Stadium.
The feat mirrors the victory Chris' father Steven Cornell accomplished as a Skyline
sophomore back in 1965. Steven went on to win the title three consecutive years and had to
beat his own brother, Ron, who wond the title in 1968 after Steven had gone off to play
tennis at UCLA. Ron eventually went to UCLA and played tennis there too.
Chris, in his first year on the Skyline team, has two more years in the OAL. His
younger brother, Jon, who also plays tennis, is still in the 9th grade. Jon
wants to play for Skyline next and who knows, maybe history will repeat itself.
The Cornell family gathered at Davies Tennis Stadium and watched Chris as he worked his
way through the competition. The clan, a small cheering section unto itself, included his
father, mother, brother and grandmother sitting in the stands.
"It's fun because I watched his father win it 25 years ago," said Chris'
mother Loraine. "Everyone he has played has played well. The games went to three-all
with great points. The scores are not indicative of the matches, especially the last
one."
The last one was against Skyline No. 2 player Marc Chinn. He was the
only Titan player during the season to come close to beating Cornell.
"In a preseason scrimmage he had a 5-1 lead in an eight game pro set," said
Titan head coach Jesse Inclan. "Cornell came back and he won it 8-6. Chinn
was the only one who came close to him all season."
Cornell used long sweeping strokes to the left-handed Chinn's forehand
and put the winners away by coming to the net and hitting the ball down the line. "I
hit it to his forehand so I could open up his backhand side because it was his
weakness," said Cornell.
It was a long day for both players and fatigue had to play a part in the match. Chinn
had to play:
- The last set of his unfinished singles match from the day before, winning 6-1, 6-1 over
Oakland High's John Yu.
- Then he played another singles match with a long 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Oakland's
Meng Peav in the semifinals to reach the finals.
- But before Chinn could play Cornell, he teamed up with teammate Peter
Yang to start the doubles section of the tournament. The Skyline pair won 6-0, 6-1 over
Castlemont's Antonio Baltazar and Ngai Pham.
- And then Chinn was ready for the single match against Cornell.
Cornell had a similar multiple match day. He played singles first, winning 6-2, 6-2
oever Oakland Tech's Nak Chhiu. Then he teamed with Brandon Moy to beat Tech's Matt Jordan
and Nham Pham in their doubles opening, and it was on to the singles final.
The two players went hard and long, fighting out points and going to the limit each
game. Cornell, who has been playing tournament tennis since age 10, was patient during the
match. When he made mistakes he would get angry at himself, but quickly regain composure.
Then he would find the line to beat his teammate. He admitted it wasn't easy. "It was
tough because he was left-handed," said Cornell. "I've seen him play all year.
He showed a lot of determination."
Chinn knew he had a chance of beating Cornell, but he also knows his
teammate is good. "He's consistent and he's smart too," said Chinn.
"He's experienced, and you could see it."
Just as the singles title was ending, Chinn walking to the edge of the
court to wipe sweat away from his face and Cornell making his way to the exit gate,
tournament director Mark Manning called their names for another doubles match.
Cornell received a gold medal for his win and Chinn a silver medal.
Then it was on to another match in doubles.
Last year Chinn won a silver medal in doubles and now he has one in
singles. It is possible that he could get the gold he seeks in the doubles this year. It
is also possible he may have to face Cornell to do it. Three of the four teams that made
it to the OAL doubles semifinal were from Skyline.
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