For Noriega, Winning Isn’t the Only Thing : Tennis: USD junior tries to avoid the post-Davis Cup blues.

SAN DIEGO â€”  Nobody can fault Jose Luis Noriega these days if his eyes sometimes betray him. Sometimes during a match, amid the calm of the University of San Diego’s East tennis courts, Noriega can look up and see 5,000 fans.

Less than two weeks ago Noriega, USD’s top player, was playing singles and doubles for his native Peru in front of thousands against host Brazil in the Davis Cup. Peru was eliminated, 4-1, but the 21-year-old from Lima was part of Peru’s only victory, a marathon doubles match.

The past two days, however, have almost been a letdown for Noriega, who will face Steve Campbell of Rice for the top-draw singles championship of the San Diego Intercollegiate Invitational at 10:30 a.m. today at USD.

Noriega, ranked sixth in the NCAA in singles by Rolex/ITCA, said he was captivated by the excitement of the Davis Cup. But now that the USD junior is back in school, he’s trying to avoid a physical and emotional power outage.

“It’s hard (to re-adjust), but this is what I’ve chosen,� said Noriega, the top seed in the tournament, after he defeated Rice’s Jesco Von Heintze, 6-2, 6-3, in the semifinals Saturday. “It’s hard to concentrate. We played a couple of players who were top 50 in the world. The crowds were 5,000. There’s a lot of pressure. Usually afterward, you want to take a break.�

Noriega lost to Jaime Oncins, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, in his Cup opener Feb. 2. Two days later, after the previous day’s round was rained out, he teamed with Carlos DiLaura to defeat Brazil’s Fernando Roese and Mauro Menezes, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-7, 15-13, for Peru’s only point. Then, after a one-hour recess, a fatigued Noriega fell to Luiz Mattar, 6-2, 6-2, 7-5.

Noriega was also in Peru during the semester break in January, capturing the nation’s singles and doubles titles while Peru’s best men’s player, Jaime Izaga, was advancing to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. This time Noriega, the defending San Diego Intercollegiate champion, returns behind in his schoolwork.

“I’ll probably check tonight to see how many chapters I’m behind and see what they have for Monday,� he said. “But it’s hard to study when you’re in a tournament.�

So his business-in-society, product management, business finance and biology textbooks will stay on the shelf another day. Noriega won’t be worried about catching up with his fifth class--Spanish.

“He’s done a very good job adjusting to all of it,� said Torero Coach Ed Collins. “I was concerned that he would be a little flat emotionally. But it seems like his game is a notch better. You can tell by his scores. He’s giving away fewer games in the second set. He’s winning convincingly.�

Campbell, seeded third, is not convinced that he is an underdog in today’s final. He defeated another Davis Cup player, Cal Baptist’s Frank Ofori, 6-3, 6-4, in the semis. Ofori, a three-time Davis Cup participant, played No. 1 singles for Ghana.

“Davis Cup in those countries isn’t any big deal,� Campbell said. “It’s not intimidating.�

Campbell and Noriega opened the day by knocking out two San Diego State players in the quarterfinals. Campbell beat Michael Sass, 6-3, 7-6, before defeating Ofori, and Noriega dominated sixth-seeded Joe McDonough, 6-3, 6-1.

“I know Joe’s not happy with it,� Aztec Coach Hugh Bream said. “But look at the scores. He’s the only one to get three games off (Noriega) so far. (Noriega) always comes up with the right shots at the right time. But compared to the Davis Cup . . . what is this?�