As of right now, the top of the DAL standings looks like this; #1 Campolindo (6-0), Tie #2 Acalanes and Miramonte (4-2), and #4 Northgate (3-3).  The boys are fully aware that we can no longer control our destiny this season.  In order for us to repeat as league champions, we have to go 5-0 in the second half.  We then need one of our rivals to also beat Campolindo.  That’s a tough order knowing how strong they are this year, but the team is motivated and in lockdown mode and will approach this one match at a time.

We got off to a solid start to the second half of the season by taking down College Park today.  They were missing a few key players, but I don’t think it would have mattered.  The score lines below reflect that we were never in any trouble, so there is no need to write up a riveting play-by-play scenario; however, I would like to capture a couple of highlights.  First, because we sat our #1 player Owens today, Eagens played in the top spot.  When we faced College Park three weeks ago, Eagens beat Azarkhish 6-4, 6-4 in a well-played tight match.  Fast forward to today and Eagens got the win 6-0, 6-0.  Eagens put on a clinic of great serving, a controlled ground game, and excellent volleys.  It was a very lopsided victory over a formidable opponent.  Nice job Peyton!  Second, #4 Shah won his first set 6-0, but it wasn’t an ordinary set.  It was a rare “golden set.”  That is defined by winning 24 straight points.  Yes, Saaj lost no points in the first set.  Congratulations Saaj!

Our next match is 3:30 Thursday away against Campolindo.  We will have our full lineup available, and this is a critical match for us.  The boys are fired up and will be ready to go.

Before I close, I want to recognize and thank Tucker Brewer, Finlay Fisher, Vedant Todi, Spencer Tantameng and Blake Marshall for volunteering on March 24 to sit with me and Coach Peter outside of Lafayette Safeway selling booster raffle tickets.  Proceeds support the sports programs at Acalanes.  Thanks guys.

To our family members who came out to support us at College Park – thank you so much.  The matches went fairly quick, but it’s always nice to see the friendly faces on the sidelines.  We can also use all the support you can provide this Thursday.  Go Dons!  Coach Rick