The singles’ tournaments will be hosted by Burlingame, while the doubles’ competitions will be held at San Mateo. First- and second-round play begins Tuesday, with the quarterfinals and semifinals Wednesday. The finals will be Thursday.

This year, however, there is a major omission: Menlo-Atherton’s Marietta Tuionetoa, by far the top player in the PAL, decided to sit out league tournament, and most probably, the CCS individual tournament as well.

M-A coach Tom Sorenson said Tuionetoa’s decision was a personal one.

“The individual championships are really not part of team play,” Sorenson said. “She is working very hard at two things — furthering her career outside of high school play, and academics.”

In other words, she is focusing on school and her junior U.S.T.A. tennis career. Can’t blame her. She’s a senior and wants to get into a good college, so she’s cracking the books. As far as her tennis career, missing the PALs and CCS won’t do anything to harm her future.

Plus, Tuionetoa has never been one to focus on personal accolades, at least in high school. During the 2007 season, she was the breakout star in the PAL, yet she played second fiddle to Marjorie Adams, who was a senior. Tuionetoa teamed up with Adams to win the PAL doubles championship. Last year, she lost in the finals of the singles tournament. This year, with really nothing to prove, she decided to sit out the tournament.

Over the last three seasons, however, M-A has a PAL team tournament title and the last two regular-season championships. Sorenson is big on the team aspect of high school tennis. Sorenson said while Tuionetoa would probably sit out the CCS individual tournament, she will definitely be with the rest of her Bear teammates for the team tournament.

“Evidently, our section thinks the individual championships are more important than I think it is,” Sorenson said.

The one benefit of Tuionetoa sitting out the PAL tournament is it opens up the field for a number of players. Sorenson, along with Burlingame coach Bill Smith, believes Burlingame’s Brooke Tsu is now the odds-on favorite to win the singles tournament.

“On paper, Brooke should take it,” Smith said, who is definitely not a homer when it comes to tennis. He, along with every other coach in the know, knows if Tuionetoa was the top player, Tsu was most assuredly No. 2.

“But that second spot (in the finals) should be wide open.”

With Tsu now the top seed, the other top-four seeds are as follows: No. 2. Sammy Huang (San Mateo), No. 3 Polina Davidenko (Burlingame) and No. 4 Paige Keating (M-A).

“All have a solid shot,” Sorenson said. “This is going to be interesting … All four of those players have a shot. Without Marietta there, the others will realize it’s now a level field.”

On the doubles side, reigning PAL champs — Zoe Dubrow and Melissa Won — return as the top seed.

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The PAL cross country championships will also be taking place this week — Thursday at the Crystal Springs course in Belmont. A new scoring system this season was implemented to give the PAL championships meaning and it appears to have worked as the top five teams are within nine points of each other.

In the end, however, the boys’ and girls’ team titles appear to be Carlmont’s to lose. Despite all the controversy swirling around the Scots’ program this season, they still managed two first-place finishes at the previous two points meets. On the boys’ side, Menlo-Atherton is only two points behind Carlmont and, on the girls’ side, Half Moon Bay is currently in the runner-up spot behind the Scots by two points.

The Scots have to be careful and finish near the top, however. To add even more drama to the proceedings, the points at the PAL championships are worth double.

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In only its second season of play, the Crystal Springs 8-man football team has a chance to win a league championship this weekend.

By virtue of the Gryphons’ 70-6 win over Calvary Christian Saturday, coupled with Anchorpoint Christian’s 40-40 tie against Marina, the championship is Crystal Springs to lose.

But as the saying goes, Crystal Springs will have to beat the best to be the best. The Gryphons close their season Saturday night in Gilroy — against defending champion Anchorpoint Christian. Last season, Crystal Springs lost to both Anchorpoint and Marina. The Gryphons already avenged their loss to Marina, beating the Mariners 42-36 in the first league game of the season. Now, they get their shot at Anchorpoint, a team that beat the Gryphons last season, 62-6.

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Congratulations go out to the Peninsula Fury, a U13 boys’ soccer team, that captured the championship of the Las Vegas Mayor’s Cup Invitational Rotary Bracket.

The Foster City-based team went undefeated in the tournament, topping host Las Vegas 4-1 in the final. For the tournament, the Fury out-scored their opponents 16-4.

The Fury are also undefeated in Redwood League play.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.