Santa Barbara High boys tennis pulled out a dramatic crosstown rivalry victory over Dos Pueblos on Wednesday in Goleta.
The two Channel League powerhouses finished the match tied at 9-9, but the Dons secured the win with a 78-67 advantage in games won. With the result, Santa Barbara High and Dos Pueblos finish as Co-Channel League champions.
“It was a tight and competitive match throughout, and I’m proud of how the team handled the pressure,” Santa Barbara High head coach Felipe Saffie said. “I’m very happy with how we closed out the league.
“Finishing as co-champions is a great achievement and really reflects the hard work the team has put in all season.”
While the Chargers took five of the nine singles points, the Dons secured five points in doubles play to send the match to be determined by games won.
The match was tied at 9-8 heading into the final doubles showdown, which Dos Pueblos won 9-7 in an exciting tiebreaker to bring the match to its final score of 9-9.
The Dons’ duo of Elio Taha and Taisei Lopez led the way in the gritty victory, going 3-0 with a trio of 6-2 wins in doubles action.
Oak Park 12, Cate 6
Oak Park handed the Rams their first loss of the season in their regular-season finale on Wednesday.
Kakeru Hirofuji turned in another stellar performance for Cate with a 3-0 day in singles play, while the pairing of Bruce Li and Andrew Jayich also went 3-0 and dropped just seven total games.
The Rams (11-1, 7-0 Tri-Valley League) will now look ahead to the CIF-SS playoffs in the coming weeks.