In a battle between two of the area’s top singles players, Masato Perera of San Marcos defeated Cate’s Ethan, 6-2, sparking the Royals to a 15-3 non-league boys tennis win on Thursday.
“Masato started slowly but absolutely dominated with his first serve and forehand,” said San Marcos coach Jarrod Bradley. “When he hits like that, he is virtually unbeatable.”
San Marcos swept all nine doubles sets against the Rams (0-2). The No. 1 team of Sam Friedman/Bryan Shott won 6-0, 6-2, 6-1, while the No. 3 combo of Ronin Suzuki/Alex Wilson took their sets 6-2, 6-1, 6-1. Friedman celebrated his 17th birthday after the match.
“Sam and Bryan are both placing their serves well and looking to poach constantly,” said Bradley.
On Suzuki and Wilson: “Alex’s forehand and serve have really improved the past couple weeks while Ronin’s all-around game compliments Alex well. They were fun to watch play today, showing great camaraderie and timely communication,” said Bradley.
Joey Friedman teamed up with his twin Charlie Friedman to win their first set 6-2, then with Jayden Duncan to win 6-2, 6-2.
“Joey’s serve gives everyone fits and results in easy points for his partners. Charlie and Jayden did a great job being ready at the net and returning well,” said Bradley.
The coach is excited how well the Royals (3-0) are playing in doubles.
“I’m proud of our guys for dedicating themselves to becoming good doubles teams. We set our partners up for easy points, and have improved our consistency,” said Bradley.
The Royals will have four teams in the fourth annual Santa Barbara High Doubles Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
San Marcos 15, Cate 3
San Marcos Singles
Masato Perera 2-0
Noah Silverberg 1-0
Alex Chow 2-1
Giulio Rambelli 1-2
Doubles
Sam Friedman/Bryan Shott 3-0
Charlie Friedman/Joey Friedman 1-0
Jayden Duncan/Joey Friedman 2-0
Ronin Suzuki/Alex Wilson 3-0
Cate Singles
Ethan Ha 2-1
Jinming Wang 0-3
Will Vanica 1-2
Doubles
Phil Xu/Owen Conde-Raggett 0-3
Michael Armstrong-Lucian Prinz 0-3
Bryce Kim/Jengus Ercil 0-3