Ready to give it his all, he walked onto Court 1 for the final time in his high school tennis career.
Senior co-captain Kushal Tantry had expectations for a challenging match against the Gators of Sacred Heart Prep (17-3) on Monday. And though the scoreboard read otherwise, Tantry walked off the court proud to say that it was the “best match I’ve played this season.”
In contrast, many of Tantry’s teammates seemed fatigued in their season ending loss, 6-1, to the Gators. According to coach Andy Harader, the players’ apparent tiredness is most likely due to extra match time outside of school.
“I think that a lot of the boys have been playing a lot of tournaments,” Harader said. “I think it has taken its toll.”
The Gators, however, played at the top of their game.
“We played about as well as we can play,” said Jeff Arons, SHP director of tennis operations. “[It was the] best match we’ve played all year. We needed to play that well because Paly is such a good team.”
The Gators, whose lineup mostly composed of young freshman talent and several seniors, swept in all singles matches and closed out two of three doubles matches.
At No. 1 singles, Tantry’s deep returns and effective topspin were not enough to SHP senior Erik Blumenkranz, 4-6, 3-6. Blumenkranz broke Tantry’s serve early, an advantage that eventually allowed him to take the first set. Tantry hit many successful passing forehands when Blumenkranz was advanced to the net. But, Tantry could not overcome Blumenkranz’s blistering serve and swift movement on the court.
“I wasn’t expecting to win at all,” Tantry said. “But [it was the] last match, so I went out and played pretty solid.”
Freshman No. 2 Baramee Wongbanchai gained a momentous start to the match, showing greater pace and variety of shots than SHP senior Jamie Hutter. Wongbanchai’s smart placement caused Hutter to hit shots just wide of the court lines. In the second and third sets, Wongbanchai struggled to hit consistent ground strokes, and Hutter made fewer errors. After two hours of play, Hutter finished off the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
“The first set I played really well,” Wongbanchai said. “I served very well. The first set he missed a lot. The second set he became consistent.”
Junior Sam Wong faced the trouble of hitting forehands and volleys just wide in his No. 3 match against SHP freshman Andrew Malozsak, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 10-6. Malozsak broke Wong’s serve early and made few errors. Wong played consistent cross-court rallies but was unable to attack Malozsak’s deep returns that often pushed Wong behind the baseline. Wong struck the ball cleaner and pushed the match to a third set but was unable to fend off Malozsak’s relentless shots that clipped the lines.
“My opponent was really steady [and] didn’t make many errors,” Wong said.
Lacking experience in playing singles, junior Alan Chen failed to keep the ball in play against SHP senior Billy McCall at No. 4. Chen committed many unforced errors and demonstrated slight fatigue, and McCall topped Chen in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.
“I felt a little bit off today,” Chen said. “I couldn’t make any shots in.
In preparation for Wednesday and Thursday’s Santa Clara Valley Athletic League tournament, senior co-captain David Plotkin and junior Dan Schwartz played the No. 1 doubles spot against SHP juniors John Michael Hansen and Mark Westerfield. The Vikings exchanged a variety of shots and tight rallies, but the Gator’s early break of serve allowed them to take the first set 6-4. In the second set, Plotkin and Schwartz recovered from a 4-1 deficit but could not keep the pace, allowing the Gators to take the match, 6-4, 7-5.
“They [Hansen and Westerfield] were serving well and they were just stepping up their game on the big points,” Plotkin said.
Riding off of efficient communication and familiarity with one another, sophomores Drew Pearson and Peter Tseng disposed of SHP freshmen Mario Paganini and Colin Kelly in the No. 2 doubles. In the first set, the Vikings and Gators switched off between defense and offense, with neither duo dropping serve. Pearson says he struggled to keep serve due to a recent back injury.
“A week ago, [my back] just started hurting, and it just hasn’t gotten better since,” Pearson said. “Come CCS time, I’ll be able to serve harder and better.”
Nevertheless, Pearson and Tseng maintained their focus in the second set and were able to clinch the Vikings’ only victory of the day in straight sets, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
At No. 3 doubles, junior John Mitchell and sophomore Chase Cooper lost the deciding third set to SHP freshmen Pedro Robinson and Kyle Scherba, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Mitchell and Cooper played aggressively at the start of the match, but the momentum did not last into the second and third sets. According to Mitchell, lack of prior experience in playing with Cooper was an issue.
“We had a lot more energy in the first set but failed to retain that same intensity for the rest of the match,” Mitchell said.
Looking onto post-season play, all members of the team are confident that they will do make it farther than last year in Central Coast Section team tournament, as well as have one of the best seasons next year with so many juniors and sophomores currently on the team.
“These guys are going to be so good next year,” Tantry said. “I think our singles lineup is going to be dominant and our doubles are gaining more experience.”
In the SCVAL individual tournament, April 22-23, Tantry is the No. 2 seed in singles; Wong is the No. 3 seed in singles; Plotkin and Schwartz make up the No. 2 seed in doubles; and Pearson and Tseng are the No. 5 seed in doubles.
The Vikings will play in the CCS team tournament on May 2.