The Palo Alto boys’ tennis team rolled to a 7-0 victory against Homestead High School on Thursday, demonstrating the formidable depth of its roster.
Head coach Andy Harader was able to experiment with new doubles pairings by allowing some players that are not usually in the lineup to get court time, and was impressed with the result.
“We played really well,” Harader said. “The bottom of the lineup was able to play and it proved we have great depth.”
At No. 1 singles, senior Sam Wong dominated A. Hsiung, 6-0, 6-2. Hitting consistently, Wong often went for the clean winner, moving his opponent from all around the baseline and whipping precise forehands out of his reach. Wong also approached the net and won points with his crisp volleys, while his high kicking topspin serves surprised Hsiung and forced him to make short returns or hit the ball out of the court.
Coupled with Hsiung’s inability to serve consistently, Wong had no trouble getting quickly off the courts.
“I played alright,” Wong said. “I relied on my volleys and I didn’t miss that much.”
Senior Dan Schwartz, who played No. 2 singles in place of sophomore Baramee Wongbanchai, had a more difficult time but still managed to emerge victorious against M. Kung, 6-4, 7-6. Schwartz fired deep shots that pushed his opponent towards the back fence and relied on his soft volleys to speed through the first set.
Unfortunately for Schwartz, Kung mounted a comeback in the second set and eventually went ahead, 6-5. Visibly frustrated by his erratic play, Schwartz overcame his dissatisfaction and powered through the tiebreak to a 7-6 win.
“I was tired from the start of the match; I had to dig deep when I got to the tiebreak and I focused and brought it together,” Schwartz said.
Playing No. 3 singles, senior John Mitchell faced a similar challenge to Schwartz as he defeated A. Kao, 6-3, 7-6. Using heavy topspin, Mitchell held long rallies and frequently mixed in slice backhands that he used to angle Kao off the court.
After a quick first set victory, Mitchell and his opponent battled back and forth with Kao gaining the advantage, 4-1. Shouts of anger and elation could be heard on the other side of the courts as the two players refused to give in.
However, in the end it was Mitchell’s determination and strong mental game that allowed him to overcome his game deficit and emerge with a 7-6 second set victory.
“I played well in the first set, but then I let up in the second,” Mitchell said. “I waited for an opportunity when we were hitting long rallies.”
Senior Cory McCroskey shredded his opponent in a lightning fast, 6-1, 6-0 romp at No. 4 singles against J. Mrozack. Taking advantage of Mrozack’s counter-punch style of play, McCroskey dominated with strong ground strokes and reliable serves. Many of McCroskey’s points came from clean winners that were untouched by his Homestead counterpart.
“I kept playing well throughout the match,” McCroskey said. “He [Mrozack] had a good forehand, so I hit all my shots to his backhand and he fell apart in the second.”
An effect of the shuffled lineup was the pairing of freshman Nicky Hu, who normally plays No. 4 singles, with junior Drew Pearson, who usually competes in doubles with senior John Mitchell.
The duo was deadly as it decimated M. Babicz and B. Pool, 6-1, 6-0. Pearson shot precise backhands down the line while Hu hit deceptive approach shots that went untouched down the middle of the court. With powerful serving, Pearson had 4 aces, and the pair was given countless lobs that they hammered into the court and over the fence.
Good friends off the court, the connection between Hu and Pearson showed as their easy banter and competition drove them to an impressive win.
“It was pretty cool playing with Drew because he hit aces all the time,” Hu said. “My forehand was legitimate today.”
At No. 2 doubles, juniors Chase Cooper and Peter Tseng were unstoppable as they cruised to a 6-1, 6-1, win over K. Moniya and K. Oshima. Relying on blistering forehands to pass by their Homestead foes, Cooper and Tseng gave no chances and finished every high ball ferociously.
“We got into a wonderful rhythm and just took it game by game,” Cooper said.
The Viking domination continued at No. 3 doubles in which junior Alex Taser and senior Daniel Zeugfang defeated E. Chan and E. Knall, 6-0, 6-2. Taser controlled the net with his impressive volleys while Zeugfang’s big serves set up easy points.
“We played incredible; it was all about Z’s [Zeugfang] strategy,” Taser said.
Despite the lopsided score, Harader believes that the match was a good preparation for Paly’s league rival Lynbrook High School, which the Vikings will play on Monday.
“It was a good warm up for Lynbrook,” Harader said. “We had some players struggle and it is good to have them learn from it against an easy team so that they don’t become overconfident.”
The Vikings are confident as they tackle the heart of their league season with Lynbrook, Los Altos High School, and Monta Vista High School in the upcoming week. After Spring Break, Paly will see formidable competition from Saratoga High School and Menlo High School.
Paly will face Lynbrook High School in an away match at 3:30 p.m. on March 16.