Being down our #3 singles player on the trip, Shah, due to a rolled ankle, ended up being a key reason why we struggled on day two. We knew it was going to be tough, so the plan was to field the best team we could and rotate our lower varsity players into the matches. This tennis tournament experience is pretty unique. It is a combination of competition, teamwork, experiencing new schools/tennis courts while having a road trip feeling. It is a great opportunity for the boys, and I’m happy the weather held up and we were able to go this year.
We again started the day with an early 8:30AM match at Central East High School – this time our opponent was St. Joseph out of Santa Maria. Though we lost 5-1, it was a lot closer than the overall score indicates. Of the six matches, three went to a deciding super tiebreaker, and two of the others were won and lost with a tiebreaker. After introductions, all six matches went on at the same time.
The first to finish was #3 Sze You Chen. My hat is off to Yoyo as he was tasked with some very strong opponents over the two days. And though he didn’t beat Cooper, it was a hard-fought match with both boys engaged in long rallies. #1 Owens came out of the gate running and won the first set 6-0 quickly. However, something came loose in the second set and unforced errors crept into his game. Every player experiences this – you just can’t find your shots and the court. Unfortunately, the match slipped away from Nick 10-8 in a third set super tiebreaker. #3 doubles team Goldwyn/Ristow finished next in another long battle. Their opponents took the first set 6-3, but Danny and Carsten battled back to take the second 7-5. They lost the super tiebreaker 10-7, and it came down to some unforced errors, mostly at the net. We’ll work on that at practice.
Our one win against the Knights came from #2 doubles team Rocca/Marshall, but it didn’t come easy. Dylan and Blake won the first set 6-3 but had to pull off some clutch serving and shot making to win the second set in an 8-6 tiebreaker. They are gelling well as a doubles team. Shortly after, the #1 Hoeberechts brothers finished. Kaya and Bora suffered their first loss of the weekend in a match that was also decided by a super tiebreaker. They played well and it came down to winning critical points towards the end, and credit goes to Christian and Robbie who closed out the match. At this point, we were down 4-1, and the overall match was mathematically over, but we forgot to tell #3 Billy O’Brien. Though Billy was #10 on our roster, he played #3 singles so that I didn’t have to break up the doubles teams. At first, it looked like Billy was overmatched, but that didn’t stop Billy from fighting. After he lost the first set 6-2, he upped his level of play and gave Gabriel a real battle pushing him to a second set tiebreaker. And though Billy lost the tiebreaker 7-3, I’m proud of how consistent and determined he played. Final: Knights 5, Dons 1.
Our second match started right when Billy finished. Up next was Stockdale out of Bakersfield. You’ll see in the scores below that all of the matches were straight sets except for one. #1 Owens made short work of Oluoch giving up only four games. Nick looked dominant and played well. #1 Kaya/Bora Hoeberechts also looked very strong with solid serving and net play. They won 6-4, 6-3. #3 Yoyo and opponent Flores were in a heated groundstroke match where both boys were striking the ball with a lot of pace running each other all over the court. Flores got the best of this one though winning 6-2, 6-4. Pinch hitting in the #3 singles slot this round was Goldwyn who played his best but lost 6-1, 6-1. #3 doubles Belhumeur/Gorham started slowly but played a better second set eventually falling to Stillwell/Tran 6-1, 6-4. We were down 2-3 with one match left. #2 Rocca/Marshall were evenly matched against Norris/Ren and the points were very good tennis. Dylan and Blake pulled it out 10-7 in a super tiebreaker. Though the overall match was now 3-3, the fact that Stockdale won seven sets, they were declared the winner against our five sets and a super tiebreaker, giving us six. Final: Mustangs 7, Dons 6. And just like that, the tournament was over.
Some highlights from the two days. (1) Congratulations to Dylan and Blake for going 4-0 in their matches. (2) All of the players who went played in at least one match. We weren’t sure that was going to happen. (3) Our seniors Danny, Carsten and Dylan got to experience the Fresno tournament at least once before they graduated. The weather was perfect for tennis this year. (4) This was a great bonding event for the twelve players who went. We had a good time but missed the rest of the team. (5) There was no drama! Just how the coach likes it.
Hope to see you at the away Campolindo match on Tuesday. Go Dons! Coach Rick
Match 3 Results – St. Joseph defeated Acalanes 5-1
Singles
Diego M (SJ) defeated #1 Nick Owens (A) 0-6, 6-3, 10-8
Cooper S. (SJ) defeated #2 Sze You Chen (A) 6-4, 6-3
Gabriel H (SJ) defeated #3 Billy O’Brien (A) 6-2, 7-6 (3)
Doubles
Christian Z/Robbie K (SJ) defeated #1 Bora and Kaya Hoeberechts (A) 7-5, 3-6, 10-6
#2 Dylan Rocca/Blake Marshall (A) defeated Kili M/Marcus C (SJ) 6-3, 7-6 (6)
Will M/Gabriel D (SJ) defeated #3 Danny Goldwyn/Carsten Ristow (A) 6-3, 5-7, 10-7
Match 4 Results – Stockdale defeated Acalanes 3-3, 7-6 sets
Singles
#1 Nick Owens (A) defeated Kyle Oluoch (S) 6-2, 6-2
John Paul Flores (S) defeated #2 Sze You Chen (A) 6-2, 6-4
Ayam Behl (S) defeated #3 Danny Goldwyn (A) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
#1 Bora and Kaya Hoeberechts (A) defeated Ritish Gulati/Jacob Barks (S) 6-4, 6-3
#2 Dylan Rocca/Blake Marshall (A) defeated Nick Norris/Jeffrey Ren (S) 7-5, 3-6, 10-7
Collin Stillwell/Ayden Tran (S) defeated #3 Chase Belhumeur/Chris Gorham (A) 6-1, 6-4
