On April 27 and 28, the Diablo Athletic League (DAL) Foothill Division held its season-ending singles and doubles tournament. The winners move on to the NCS Championships on May 5 and 6. Thursday (Apr 27) was at Northgate and reserved for the first three rounds, while Friday was at College Park and for the semis and finals. Unfortunately, day one was the hottest day of the year so far. When the tournament started, 17 of the 20 Acalanes players were in the draw; seven played singles and then five doubles teams. The Dons players had some early success, but when the first day finished, Tyler Toni was the only one left standing.
In the singles event, Dibyam Dikhit was seeded #1 and Tyler Toni #2. Because the total draw consisted of 30 players, both Dikhit and Toni received byes into the second round. First round singles winners for Acalanes were Riley Bonner and Kit Scheirer. Unfortunately, Bonner had to play #2 seeded Toni in the second round which Toni won 8-1. Scheirer ran into the #1 seeded Dikhit in the second round and was defeated 8-0. Both Dikhit and Toni made it through day one and into the semifinals.
In doubles, Aaron Brown and Nick Owens were seeded #5. Two Acalanes doubles teams reached the quarterfinals, Brown/Owens and the unseeded team of Tucker Brewer and Ace Reeder. Brown/Owens then lost 6-2, 6-1 to #4 seeded Berg/Stokes from Miramonte. Brewer/Reeder won two rounds and then fell 6-1, 6-1 to #3 seeded Dille/Elias from Miramonte – who incidentally went on to win the tournament. Other notable results, the unseeded teams of Luke Brightbill/Kaya Hoeberechts and Diego Ledezma/Spencer Tantameng did win their first rounds but lost in the second.
On day two, Toni looked sharp defeating Miramonte’s top star and freshman #3 seeded Lucca Zamani 6-4, 6-4. Dikhit defeated #4 seeded Kuimars Koopah 6-2, 6-2. This set up the showdown between the top seeds. In the end, Dikhit came out on top 7-5, 6-1.
The doubles final ended up being a Miramonte contest. First in the semis, #4 Berg/Stokes (M) took out #1 seeds Ioann Timokhin and Jon Lee (NG) 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 11-9. #3 Dille/Elias (M) defeated #7 Tyler Panos/Ivan Zemsky from Campolindo 6-0, 6-4. In the end, Dille/Elias defeated Berg/Stokes 7-5, 4-6, 10-8. Congratulations to the winners and finalists.
The Dons, of course, send out a special congratulations to Tyler Toni. He held up his #2 seeding and represented Acalanes extremely well. We’re proud of our school’s top player and plan to sign him up for the NCS singles championship as an “at large” entry. More to come on that. Go Dons. Coach Rick
