Riding off of its momentum from having captured the Cal Classic title this weekend in Fresno, Paly’s varsity boys’ tennis team crushed Lynbrook High School, 6-1, on Tuesday.
Head coach Andy Harader complimented Lynbrook’s aggressive play, noting its performance at the Fresno tournament.
“These guys [Lynbrook] just fought like heck,” Harader said. “It’s nice to see. When they were up, they were fighting; when they were down, they were fighting; and a couple of them came from way down in a match to win. It’s a great team.”
In Tuesday’s match, senior No. 1 singles player Sam Wong had difficulty against Lynbrook senior Eugene Muchyaski. Wong was defeated in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, despite having led, 5-4, in the second set. The fast-paced match pushed Wong’s limits, tiring him physically, allowing Muchyaski to demonstrate his greater agility.
Nonetheless, Harader was pleased with Wong’s play.
“He [Muchyaski] is probably the best player in the league,” Harader said, “but Sam’s in there fighting, so it’s nice to see.”
At No. 2 singles, sophomore Baramee Wongbanchai battled with Lynbrook’s Stephen Li and emerged victorious, 6-2, 6-2. Despite the win, Wongbanchai felt a little disappointed at having allowed his opponent to win four games.
Freshman No. 3 singles player Nicky Hu overcame Lynbrook’s Davis Huang, 6-1, 6-0, by winning 12 straight games after coming out flat.
“I lost the first game and then I focused and upped my intensity,” Hu said. “Then, the match went accordingly.”
Senior Cory McCroskey at No. 4 singles defeated Lynbrook sophomore Ryan Liu, 6-1, 6-2. Despite a solid first set, McCroskey lost a bit of focus in the second set, but was able to recover and defeat Liu because of greater endurance.
In doubles matches, junior Drew Pearson and senior John Mitchell struggled against Lynbrook’s David Cappello and Takumi Takahashe at the No. 1 doubles spot, 6-3, 6-3. The pair was unable to find a rhythm throughout the entire match, missing on serves and on easy shots.
“Our opponents didn’t overpower us, but they certainly used their size to their advantage,” Mitchell said. “They were very good at keeping us out of rhythm. We didn’t play our greatest, but we got it done.”
At No. 3 doubles, junior Peter Tseng and senior Alan Chen controlled play, defeating Lynbrook’s Vyas Ramasubaman and Cornell Bang, 6-1, 6-0. Tseng demonstrated excellent serves and hit several aces.
Juniors Grant Audet and Alex Freeman at No. 4 doubles found their rhythm early on, defeating Lynbrook juniors Rohan Jonnalayadda and Tejas Naravatna, 6-3, 6-0. Audet and Freeman executed their pre-match strategy to find out and capitalize on their opponents’ weaknesses, the same strategy which enabled the pair to do well at Fresno. After finding their rhythm, Audet and Freeman were able to put away shots after a two- or three-hit rally.
The team’s next match is against St. Francis High School at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday at St. Francis.