Junior Masato Perera made local tennis history on Thursday by becoming the first player from San Marcos to win the CIF-Southern Section Individual Singles Championship.
The No. 2-seeded Perera rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over top-seeded Alex Michelson of Aliso Niguel to claim the title at the Seal Beach Tennis Center.
He becomes only the fifth local high schooler to be crowned Southern Section Champion and the first since Alex Decret of Santa Barbara High in 1993. The other champions — all from SBHS — are Heath Montgomery (1991), Mike Fallberg (1980) and Tom Kruger (1938).
“This historic achievement was hard fought,” said San Marcos coach Jarrod Bradley. “Alex has great hands at the net and baseline, with equally consistent groundstrokes and earned quite a few easy points off drop shots and volleys.
“The difference in the match was Masato’s ability to adjust and move Alex around the court more. Masato showed the grit and mental determination to remain confident in the most crucial points of the match.”
Perera is No. 1 and Michelson No. 2 in the USTA Southern California Boys 18s rankings, and Perera is rated fourth nationally.
He reached the final by sweeping Kane Kelley of Chaminade, 6-2, 6-2, in the semifinals.
After being presented the CIF Champion plaque at the Seal Beach Tennis Center, Perera attended a USTA Awards Ceremony in Newport Beach, where he was honored as the Southern California High School Male Most Valuable Tennis Player and named a National High School Tennis Association All American.
Perera joins legend Pete Sampras (Palos Verdes High) and Taylor Dent (Corona del Mar) as winners of the prestigious Southern California Tennis MVP Award.
Bradley said Perera has verbally committed to attend Harvard University in the fall of 2022.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.