For Burroughs' Garrett Auproux, it's about balance

Although sleep can often be at a premium for Auproux, he said he relishes the opportunity to play for his high school team and realizes all of his hard work will eventually pay off.

"I think it's also a great preparation for college," said Auproux, who is weighing his college options from a large group of schools. "I know a lot of kids, kids that I played against in tournaments, who are home-schooled who have a hard time in college because they never went to a regular high school. I have to wake up early every morning to make it to school, go to my classes and make sure I do my work."

In addition to the dedication to his schoolwork, Auproux has a similar devotion on the tennis court. Since taking up the sport at age 5 with a class at the Burbank Tennis Center, he has continued to rise through the ranks of the USTA. Before turning 17 a few months ago, Auproux was ranked among the top 10 in the nation and No. 2 in Southern California among 16 year olds. With just a few tournaments under his belt in the 18s, he has already cracked the top 100.

In between taking part in some of the biggest tournaments in the nation, Auproux enjoyed a stellar season with Burroughs, which placed second in the Pacific League behind Arcadia.

Auproux breezed to the Pacific League singles championship, where he took on sophomore teammate Calvin Fox. Fox was no match for the more seasoned Auproux, losing in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

"It was great winning the league singles for the second year in a row," Auproux said. "It's a little awkward playing in the championship against a teammate. But we were joking around a little and that made it kind of nice. But he played really well and I congratulated him."

Moving on to the CIF Individual tournament, Auproux enjoyed one of the most successful runs in history by an area player. Seeded fourth, Auproux — who fell in the round of 16 as a sophomore — advanced to the semifinals by defeating Tomas Aranguiz of Ayala, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.

In the final four, Auproux flirted with an upset before falling to top-seeded junior Gage Brymer of Irvine University, 7-5, 6-3, at the Seal Beach Tennis Center. Auproux ended the season with a 47-4 record and is 91-7 over the past two years.

"I was happy to make it to the semifinals, but my goal was to win the whole thing," Auproux said. "It's great that I made it that far, but I was hoping to keep going."