Oaks Christian School coach Steve Abraham figured his team would have a chance to start the season undefeated in 2008.

But his players decided why wait?

Utilizing a roster of five sophomores, three juniors, one freshman and only one senior, the Lions (10-0, 9-0 Tri-Valley League ) are a year ahead of schedule.

"I expected next year was going to be our year, but the guys are starting to believe in themselves," Abraham said. "They have constantly improved."

Oaks Christian has benefited from the addition of experienced freshman Sean Levesque, who seamlessly slipped into the singles spot vacated by the graduation of Zac Tsai.

"He is smarter than the dickens," Abraham said of Levesque. "He has game sense and an IQ on the court that is just amazing."

Levesque entered Thursday's match against Nordhoff with an undefeated record. But his success hasn't made him immune from rookie pranks by teammates.

"They call me freshman and turn my bags inside out," Levesque said. "They pick on me, but it's just for fun."

Playing for Oaks Christian is the first time Levesque has been a member of a team in any sport.

"It is different, but I really like it," Levesque said. "Especially the traveling and getting out of school early."

Realizing most teams have a solid singles player like Levesque, Abraham stresses improvement in doubles.

Juniors Eric Hawkins and Michael Lee took the message to heart as freshmen alternates. They entered nearly every doubles tournament in the area, and attended numerous clinics. As a result, the tandem hasn't lost in two years.

"I split up our No. 3 doubles team to play singles in practice the other day, and both of them won but asked me not to put them in singles again," Abraham said. "They said, 'We love doubles.' "

Oaks Christian closes out its regular season against rival Oak Park, and the Lions are hoping to celebrate a Tri-Valley League title.

"They want to do it for our one senior (Oliver Allnatt)," Abraham said. "He said he would love to win a league title before he graduates."

Field trip to Ojai: The 107th edition of The Ojai begins on Thursday morning, and several area schools will be represented in the Boys' CIF singles and doubles draws.

The entrants from the individual teams are: Camarillo: Connor Karen, Greg Punsalan-Tom Tang; Calabasas: Darin Rosen-Jeff Rebhun; Malibu: Daniel Moss; Moorpark: Drew Jacobs; Newbury Park: Fletcher Munksgard-Matt Ward; Nordhoff: Sean Lee, Ian Kretzers-Casey Robbins; Oxnard: Armaun Emami; Rio Mesa: Brent Merrill; Simi Valley: Adam Luong-Spencer Stendel; Thacher: Simon Wu, Chris Gordon-Wil Oberndorf; Thousand Oaks: Dario Leekam, Alex Johnson-Ken Wang; Westlake: Ian Stanley, Zak Drost-Tony Carucci.

Failing to learn from the past: Once again, there were leagues that scheduled matches for Thursday the opening day of The Ojai.

The Marmonte and Tri-Valley leagues have a full slate listed, which will require teams to go without key players or have players pulling double duty on the courts.