Laguna Blanca boys tennis came up short in its Tri-Valley League opener, dropping a 14-4 decision at Thacher on Tuesday.
There were some bright spots for the Owls (0-2), who fielded a lineup with more freshmen and sophomores than upperclassmen. In singles, juniors Kai Nakamura and John-Henry Schulz each took wins and battled gamely against their other opponents.
In doubles, senior/sophomore combo Kevin Khodabandehlou and Nic Richmond showed great determination in their three sets of play at #2 doubles (6-1, 5-7, 7-5).
The top Laguna doubles team of sophomore Ryan Purkait and Kai Suzuki took a few sets to get going, but rounded out their first match together with a 6-3 victory in the third set.
“I’m very pleased with my boys and the way they competed today,” said coach Trevor Thorpe. “We had the goals of moving like athletes and playing with determination and all 12 guys checked those boxes today. It’s still very early in the season and competitive matches like this are only going to help us get where we’re headed by the end of the season.”