San Marcos rode a pair of talented freshmen to a 7-2 singles record on Thursday and went on to beat Santa Barbara 12-6 in a Channel League boys tennis match.
The Royals are 7-0 overall and 5-0 in league. Freshmen Masato Perera and Alex Chow went 3-0 at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively.
“Masato Perera and Alex Chow have played well in singles this season,” said Royals coach Jarrod Bradley. “They’re experienced tournament players with strong groundstrokes and an evolving net game.”
Taylor Kleine/Mason Lender were 3-0 in No. 1 doubles for the Dons. Alexi Gill/Daniel Newton and Bryan Shott/Alex Stefanov went 2-1 for the Royals.
“The Dons moved Taylor Kleine to doubles this match and he responded with a sweep with Mason Lender,” said Bradley. “We figured Coach Echt would move Taylor to doubles, so I responded by putting Daniel in doubles with Alexi. League matches can be somewhat of a chess match with slight adjustments. We just couldn’t get into a rhythm against Taylor and Mason. They served exceptionally well.”
San Marcos travels to San Luis Obispo on Monday and hosts Dos Pueblos on Wednesday.