The Los Gatos boys tennis team entered the sixth annual Corona del Mar/National High School All-American Invitational at Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach unseeded. But while no one was saying much about the Wildcats heading into the tourney, they were certainly talking about the Cats after it was over.

Los Gatos upset top-seeded Harvard-Westlake 5-4 in the second round of the tournament and eventually lost a 5-4 thriller to No. 2 seed Santa Barbara in the championship match.

Brian Brogan and Stephen Stege led the Cats to the second-place finish in the prestigious tournament and were named to the National All-American team.

This marks Brogan's third straight year on the All-American team and the first for Stege, a sophomore.

Brogan lost an 8-6 heartbreaker to Santa Barbara's Blake Muller at No. 1 singles. Muller, a senior, will play at Stanford next year and Brogan has just signed to play for Santa Clara University.

Following the loss in the top singles spot, Stege at No. 2 singles, John Teel at No. 3 and Chase Huebner at No. 4 each posted wins for the Wildcats.

Patrick Brogan at No. 5 and James Lok at No. 6 each lost in singles play.

The clubs split in singles competition after Santa Barbara had opened the match by taking a 2-1 edge in doubles action.

Huebner and P. Brogan teamed for a win at No. 2 doubles, but B. Brogan and Stege lost 8-5 at No. 1 and Lok and Teel lost at No. 3.

Los Gatos opened the tournament with a 6-3 win over Brophy College Preparatory of Phoenix, Ariz., then edge Harvard-Westlake 5-4 in the second round. The Wildcats went on to defeat Woodbridge of Irvine 6-3 to advance to the finals.

"We came very close to winning the tournament, taking out the top seeded team in the second round," said Los Gatos coach Todd Dissly. "It came down to just two games, and it could have gone either way. This is the best team we've ever had."

Not only is it a strong team, it's a young team with only B. Brogan and Lok as seniors on the playing ladder. Stege and Teel are just sophomores.

Los Gatos is coming off a great season where the Wildcats won the Central Coast Section championship and also took the Northern California crown.

"And we have another great team this year," added Dissly. "We worked extremely hard on our fitness in preparing for the 2005 season. As you may know, we have one of the toughest leagues in the entire country."

The Wildcats, fourth in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League a year ago, are off to a 6-1 start this season. The only blemish on their record is a 4-3 loss to powerhouse Los Altos.

Stege won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles to lead the Cats to a 4-3 win over Palo Alto, and Stege won 6-2, 6-2 in singles action and Tim Switzer and Greg Thaler teamed for a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 1 doubles in a 6-1 victory over Monta Vista.

The Wildcats are 15-4 for the year, their only losses coming against Los Altos and Menlo School (5-4) in a non-league match, along with the two losses in the tournament in Newport Beach.