Last year, Northgate lost ten seniors suffering a huge hole in their starting lineup.  Nevertheless, the Dons tennis squad did not take Northgate lightly today, and it was a good thing.  Though we won 7-2, several of the matches were very close and it took some steel nerves and excellent shot making to win three of the four matches decided by super tiebreakers.  The boys needed to bounce back today with a win and they did a great job pulling this off. 

Because Northgate has twelve courts, all league and exhibition matches went on at the same time.  Coach Peter supported the courts to the left and I took the right.  The first match to finish was #3 doubles.  #3 Billy O’Brien/Chase Belhumeur played in their first league varsity match as a doubles team.  Unfortunately, St. Patrick’s Day was yesterday so the luck of the Irish ran out at midnight.  Halvek/Choi took the match 6-1, 6-1, but it was good experience for Billy and Chase.  Next off was #2 Rocca/Marshall who continue to roll as a team and dominated over Walsh/Rohani losing only three games in the match.  By the time I got to this court to coach, the contest was already over.  #2 Owens was next to finish with hard fought 6-2, 6-2 win over a stubborn Bazulin.  The score does not accurately reflect the quality of tennis that was played.  Nick earned this win.  There were a lot of long points, but Nick won the critical ones and put the team up 2-1.

To give Sze You Chen and Sammy Foster a change of scenery, I decided to shake up the roster a bit.  Instead of playing singles, they teamed up and played in the #1 doubles spot.  They played extremely well together and got a well-deserved win over Leach/Rosti 6-4, 6-0.   Next off was #6 Kaya Hoeberechts.  Kaya came out of the gate strong running off with the first set 6-2.  Some tentativeness and unforced errors unfortunately found their way into his game and the second set slipped away 6-3.  It was then Golovin who edged Kaya in the deciding super tiebreaker 10-6.  Acalanes was now leading 3-2.

#1 Sze Ting Chen then finished in a long straight set victory over sophomore Lele.  Though Chen grades himself tough, it’s my opinion that makes this article and I say Sze Ting played a good match and took out a very talented Lele.  It was fun tennis to watch.  Next off was #4 Shah who was almost evenly matched with Luzquinos.  This match could have gone either way and was tight from the first game.  Shah lost the first set in a tiebreaker.  He then got more balls in play and reduced the unforced errors which helped him win the second set 6-4.  The deciding super tiebreaker then went to Saaj 10-8, and it truly was a battle of attrition.  Though the pressure of the moment crept into his game, Saaj came up with clutch shots towards the end of the match and got the win.  This also gave Acalanes its fifth line, locking up the team win. 

#5 Bora Hoeberechts finished next in another long match.  After 24 games, the longest match of the day, the score was tied 5-7, 7-5.  Bora played a smart and offensive decider and took out Rees 10-6.  As the match progressed, Bora looked more and more comfortable and really started going for his shots.  Last off the courts was #3 Eagens.  This was another real dogfight.  Throughout the match, Mojadidi was the aggressor and was dictating the points, but Peyton put on a clinic when it comes to defense, chasing down balls and wearing out an opponent.  I got tired just watching this match.  Hats off to Peyton as his fitness, persistence and consistency helped him over the finish line.  Final Score: Acalanes 7, Northgate 2.

The weatherman says we have a couple weeks of sunshine coming, so we can finally get in some practices between the matches.  It feels like the team got back on track today.  We take on Benicia in an interleague away match on Thursday.  Our fan base was a little light today, but that’s okay.  We did have supporters, and we appreciate the cheering.  We know our parents are here in spirit if not physically.  Go Dons!  Coach Rick

Results – Acalanes defeated Northgate 7-2

Singles

#1 Sze Ting Chen (A) defeated Raihan Lele (N) 6-4, 7-6 (3)

#2 Nick Owens (A) defeated Dimitri Bazulin (N) 6-2, 6-2

#3 Peyton Eagens (A) defeated Elias Mojadidi (N) 6-3, 5-7, 10-8

#4 Saaj Shah (A) defeated Nico Luzquinos (N) 6-7 (5), 6-4, 10-8

#5 Bora Hoeberechts (A) defeated Maks Rees (N) 5-7, 7-5, 10-6

Vadim Golovin (N) defeated Kaya Hoeberechts (A) 2-6, 6-3, 10-6

 

Doubles

#1 Sze You Chen/Sammy Foster (A) defeated Jory Leach/Daniel Rosti (N) 6-4, 6-0

#2 Dylan Rocca/Blake Marshall (A) defeated Quinn Walsh/Anthony Rohani (N) 6-1, 6-2

Ozan Halvek/Nicko Choi (N) defeated #3 Chase Belhumeur/Billy O’Brien (A) 6-1, 6-1