Boys’ Tennis: Dos Pueblos Ekes Out Close Call with SLO

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/boys_tennis_dos_pueblos_ekes_out_close_call_with_slo/

By Liz Frech

After setting up a tie, Chargers grind out the narrowest of victories with games tally

Playing its third match in as many days, Dos Pueblos endured another three-hour-plus contest before edging out visiting San Luis Obispo for a spectacular victory Wednesday. The Chargers and Tigers tied in sets, at nine each, but Dos Pueblos won the games, 73-70.

SLO brought its top singles player, Julian Arnold (No. 14, Southern California Boys 18s), and top doubles team of Jared Belsher and Matt Will. Between them they lost only six games. Dos Pueblos had traveled to SLO last year, losing that match.

In Wednesday’s first round, some of the players started slowly, and then let out their aggressive shots by “hitting through the ball” and keeping their feet moving. Although down 0-3,  Jake Roberts and Malcolm Sutton fought on, regrouped, slapped hands, slammed overheads, and won the set, 6-4. After the first round, Dos Pueblos led 4-2. In the second round, the Chargers went even with the Tigers, 3-3, resulting in a 7-5 lead. Christian Edstrom went the distance in that round with a thrilling set that lasted nearly an hour. He showed that he is the dropshot master. The set did not go his way, but he gave the Chargers five games.

The third round proved quite grueling and it wasn’t until late in the round that the outcome was determined. The Chargers had their hands full in singles and in doubles. The players knew that every game counted and pushed themselves as hard as they could. It paid off. After the third round the Chargers won just two sets, resulting in a 9-9 tie. This time, two matches kept our attention. On court 2, Eric Katz and Peter Shao went back and forth in their “aerobic” set, giving Dos Pueblos four games. On court 1, Richard Cheng gave an incredible performance in the final singles set with elegant groundstrokes. He added four games to the Chargers’ total. Dos Pueblos parent Mark Silverstein and I counted up games to see where we stood and the Chargers won by three games, 73-70. What a nail-biter!

In summary, the Chargers won four sets in singles and five in doubles as Dos Pueblos improved to 8-1. It was SLO’s first loss of the season and the Tigers are now 6-1. Both teams showed great sportsmanship. Way to go, Chargers!

Sets: Dos Pueblos 9, San Luis Obispo 9
Games: Dos Pueblos 73, San Luis Obispo 70

Dos Pueblos Singles:
Sasha Gryaznov 2-1
Christian Edstrom 1-2
Richard Cheng 1-2

Dos Pueblos Doubles:
Eric Katz/Peter Shao 1-2
Jake Roberts/Malcolm Sutton 2-1
Austin Cano/Andy Silverstein 2-1

San Luis Obispo Singles:
James Campbell 2-1
Julian Arnold 3-0
Coco Angulo 0-3

San Luis Obispo Doubles:
Jared Belsher/Matt Will 3-0
Peter Angulo/Robbie Milla 1-2
Kyle Morton/Sam Moskovic 0-3

— Liz Frech coaches boys’ tennis at Dos Pueblos High.

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/boys_tennis_dos_pueblos_ekes_out_close_call_with_slo/