TENNIS NOTEBOOK: YOUN ONE LEADING GLENDALE.

Byline: Erik Boal  Special to the Daily News

It wasn't long ago that Glendale High had the dominant boys' tennis program in the Pacific League, winning six titles in a nine-year span, the last in 1997.

Since their last championship, the Nitros have competed in the shadow of Arcadia winner of the past three Pacific titles and even crosstown rival Hoover of Glendale, which won the Southern Section Div. I crown in 2002.

Thanks to senior Mike Youn's return, Glendale (11-0) has ventured upon new glory days. Youn, who didn't play for the Nitros last year so he coul concentrate on junior tournaments, hasn't lost a set this season.

"Obviously, having Mike is a huge luxury," said Glendale coach Bob Davidson, whose team is one of four in the area along with Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, Eagle Rock and Sylmar to enter April with an undefeated record. "It's a big advantage if it's a 9-9 tie, because he creates a big advantage on games."

So far, Glendale hasn't been pushed to that point. The Nitros have two 10-8 victories, the most recent March 29 against Arcadia, snapping the Apaches' 36-match league winning streak.

--Nothing for granted: Eagle Rock joined El Camino Real of Woodland Hills as the only other City Section boys' tennis teams last season to enter the postseason undefeated.

Both fell in the playoffs, but the Eagles' quarterfinal exit came a little earlier than coach Eric Jacobson had anticipated. Eagle Rock suffered a 15(bul)-14 loss to Taft of Woodland Hills, which it had defeated in the regular season.

"Last year, I really felt like we let one get away," Jacobson said. "Maybe if we played them the next day and the next day after that, it would've been different. But they stepped up much better than we did."

Eagle Rock (9-0) has beaten Taft (6-1) this season, 5-2 on March 20, and a bigger challenge awaits April 22, when the Eagles stage a four-team tournament featuring Venice, Westchester and Taft.

--Driving toward a title: Quinn Caldaron found himself in a position most first-year coaches would dread when his Moorpark team lost its first two Marmonte League matches.

It didn't shake Caldaron's belief that the Musketeers still could contend for the league title.

"(When we lost those matches) I was still trying to find myself as a coach, and the team was still bonding," Caldaron said. "After the (11-7 loss March 9) to Thousand Oaks, I just told the guys that they're going to have to work harder than everybody else if they want to win a league championship."

Since a March 14 loss to Newbury Park - Moorpark was missing several starters - the Musketeers have rebounded to win five consecutive league matches and move into a second-place tie with Thousand Oaks.

Moorpark today has a rematch with Newbury Park.

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