Dos Pueblos High School’s opponents from Calabasas arrived late because of stalled traffic on Highway 101, and Wednesday’s boys’ tennis match didn’t start until about 3:30 p.m.
We knew we would have a tough match, as this team holds an overall record of 12-0 and three ranked juniors — Jake Klein (No. 35, B16s), Brett Buford (No. 73, B16s) and Adam Shapiro (No. 108, B18s).
In singles, Jared Madison (No. 143, B16s) gave the Chargers the lone set and used everything in his arsenal to beat Klein in a long, thrilling battle that went to a tiebreaker. In his second set, he fought hard against Buford, and Ziyad Marcus relieved him in the third round. Sean Handley came out with a sore leg after the second round, and Matt Long relieved him.
In doubles action, Dos Pueblos had many close sets but snagged only two by Eric Katz and Alex Yang. Overall, the Chargers fought hard for every point and, in some sets, climbed back from deficits. The Coyotes proved too deep, winning 15-3.
We applaud our alternates, who provided much support to the team by jumping in the third round. Again, we were without two starters — Richard Cheng, who is on a college road trip, and Sean Simpson, out with a shoulder injury. The Chargers fall to 5-4 and will play a league match at San Marcos on Monday. Way to go, Chargers!
Dos Pueblos Singles
Sean Handley 0-2
Matt Long 0-1
Jared Madison 1-1
Ziyad Marcus 0-1
Greg Steigerwald 0-3
Dos Pueblos Doubles
Peter Shao/Mason Casady 0-3
Eric Katz/Alex Yang 2-1
Jake Roberts/Caleb Franzen 0-3
Calabasas Singles
Brett Buford 3-0
Jake Klein 2-1
Adam Shapiro 3-0
Calabasas Doubles
Brett Ploussard/Max Swerdlick 3-0
Nick Latman/Daniel Barrington 1-1
Nick Latman/Jason Shumacher 1-0
Adam Rapoport/Hunter Morris 2-0
Bronko Andrews/Adam Gabay 0-1
— Liz Frech coaches boys’ tennis at Dos Pueblos High School.