SUMMERTIME RACKET : WHEELCHAIR ATHLETES FACE OFF IN VENTURA TENNIS TOURNAMENT.

Byline: R.A. Hutchinson Daily News Staff Writer

With a loud thwack, Sam Geta of Westlake Village slammed the tennis ball with his racket, sending the serve sailing toward his opponent.

With sharp, quick moves Greg Edwards maneuvered his wheels and returned the ball.

The men joined dozens of other athletes Sunday afternoon for the Ventura Coast Classic Wheelchair Tennis Tournament. Under a blazing sun at Camino Real Park, players were pitted against each other in the finals of the two-day contest.

``I've been playing for about a year,'' Geta said. ``The first time I played was last year in this tournament. And I always end up playing Greg.''

Edwards, a West Hills athlete who began playing two years ago, and Geta are in the beginning D division of the sport. On Sunday their match would determine first and second place in the division.

The two players were taking a break at about noon because one of the tires on Edwards' wheelchair blew out. Under the rules, he went to repair it in the shade of a tree while Geta waited. The athletes use specially designed wheelchairs with sloping wheels and attachments to prevent the chairs from flipping over.

Geta said he began playing because he needed an activity to get him outside and doing something physical. He had played tennis when he was younger, so he settled on that sport.

``I got tired of sitting on my butt at home for four and a half years. I'm thinking of getting serious about it and traveling like those guys,'' Geta said, pointing to competitors in the top A division.

He said the most difficult aspect of the sport is getting into position to return the ball.

``I still find myself thinking like an able-bodied person. In a chair, you have to anticipate where the ball is going,'' he explained. ``You have to start getting the chair in position as soon as you return the ball.''

Edwards, who is sponsored in tournament play by Simi Valley-based Adaptive Sports and Recreation, said tennis is one of the more challenging wheelchair sports for that very reason.

``It's one of the more difficult sports because you have to push the wheels with a racket in one hand,'' he said. ``The only difference from regular tennis is that we get two bounces.''

Leslie Shirakawa, who describes herself as one of Edwards' No. 1 fans, said tennis is one of the few sports that can pit able-bodied and disabled athletes against each other in fairly even competition, especially in doubles.

``You can have one athlete in a chair and one not, on both teams,'' she said. ``It says a lot about the players that the only difference in the sport is the number of bounces.''

Renee Gomez, coordinator of adaptive programs for the city of Ventura's Department of Community Services, said this is the sixth year of the Coast Classic. Turnout, however, was down to about 30 compared with the usual 50 to 60 athletes.

She blamed the lower turnout on conflicts with various other sporting events, including the Paralympics scheduled to start soon in Atlanta.

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Photo: (color) Don Bearden competes Sunday during the Coast Classic tennis tournament at Camino Real Park.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News