In between bites of pizza and slurps of hot chocolate, the Lady Firebirds were bouncing to the beats blaring from a boom box, celebrating their championship in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Earlier, they had defeated Santa Clara, 6-1, to finish a perfect 12-0 run through the division schedule. The victory on Oct. 27 extended the Firebirds' winning streak to 14 and improved their overall record to 17-2.

"This is the first time Fremont's girls have won a division title in tennis since the school has been in existence," explained proud coach Richard Newman, the tennis pro at Sunnyvale Tennis Center since 1976. "I have never seen a team improve like this one has, and the parent support has been incredible."

The Fremont tennis landscape has improved considerably since Newman took over the girls and boys programs five years ago. Newman's first girls team won just one match, but last year's squad finished 8-4 for a share of second place with Lynbrook. A large donation from the Sunnyvale Tennis Club and a fundraiser provided the girls team with new uniforms and jackets.

Now, Fremont's girls are going to do what Newman's boys team did in the spring of 2004. They will compete in the Central Coast Section's 24-team championship tournament, which gets under way Nov. 8.

"I don't know how we'll do against the upper division teams," Newman said. "There are no superstars on this team, just a lot of hard workers with lots of spirit.

"We were barely better than some of the other teams. But the girls wanted to practice and get better. As the season went on, they were more consistent, more competitive and more confident. Winning got easier."

The Firebirds did score a pair of wins against Wilcox of the De Anza Division, but lost matches to De Anza foes Homestead and Los Altos. Fremont's other non-league wins came against Prospect, Westmont and The King's Academy.

Leading the way for the Firebirds have been seniors Amy Pasiliao and Alyssa Hardwick. Both players will represent the team in the singles portion of this week's El Camino Division individual championships.

Pasiliao, who scored a three-set victory at No. 1 singles against Santa Clara last week, "is an extremely focused player," Newman said. "Even if she gets down, she always battles back."

Pasiliao's determination earned her victories in every match except one early in the season. "But she turned it around and beat that player badly in a rematch," Newman praised. "Hardwick is very consistent and did not losing during league play."

Two other singles players are sophomore Jennifer Rokuskova and freshman Allison Enomoto.

Roskukova, who moved to Sunnyvale since last season from eastern Europe, "could be a future star if she continues to mature and improve as a player," Newman said. Enomoto, who was unbeaten in league at No. 4 singles, "is small and quiet, but tenacious."

The Firebirds' top doubles team all season has been senior Sarah Osentowski and junior Cassy Baumert. The tandem "won just a little more than they lost last year, but got super competitive," Newman said.

Osentowski and Baumert, who lost just one game in the Santa Clara match, are looking to make a strong showing at the El Camino finals and earn a berth in the CCS individual tournament, Nov. 21-22.

Also competing for Fremont at league finals will be its unbeaten No. 3 doubles team of senior Lauren Chan and sophomore Angela Wu. Senior Veronica Gomez and juniors Kim Hong and Roaquelyn "Rocky" Bueno all played at No. 2 doubles for the Firebirds.

In addition to improving their skills, the Firebirds have improved their mental game as well. Before each match, either Newman or one of the players would read a portion of a children's story, The Little Engine That Could. "Whether they got the analogy or thought it was silly, it relaxed the players and loosened them up," Newman explained.

No matter how the team fares the rest of the season, Newman is pleased that the girls' tennis program is on the right track.

"In the past, girls at Fremont played tennis so they could list it as an activity on their college applications," the coach said. "I'm trying to get them to play for the rest of their life."

Decaro paces Homestead

Homestead junior Michelle Decaro will compete this week in the DeAnza Division singles tournament at Los Altos. Playing No. 1 singles against the likes of Monta Vista, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Los Altos and Palo Alto, Decaro has battled some of Northern California's best junior players on a weekly basis.

Decaro, senior Jennifer Kung, junior Jennifer Liao and freshman Allison Decaro led coach Francisco Ruiz's Mustangs to a 5-7 record in the rugged De Anza Division, not a bad record considering four of those defeats were to Monta Vista and Saratoga--two of the top teams in Northern California.

Knights finish with wins

The King's Academy finished strong in Private Schools Athletic League action, topping both Valley Christian of Dublin and Fremont Christian by the score of 6-1. The Knights won six of 10 league matches and had an overall record of 6-5.