The Palo Alto boys’ tennis team claimed the doubles title along with a third place finish in singles on the final day of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League Championship tournament on Wednesday at Paly.
Following first round play at Los Altos High School on Tuesday, Palo Alto only advanced two players to the SCVAL quarterfinals. Senior Dan Schwartz and junior Drew Pearson went on to claim the doubles title while senior Sam Wong who battled to a third place finish.
Schwartz and Pearson, paired together for the first time this year, held the number three seed and faced the second seeded Gunn High School tandem of Ishan Badkamkar and Sharen Narayen. Displaying impressive teamwork that belied their lack of prior matches together the Vikings scraped by with a tight 7-5, 7-6 victory.
Although they struggled to settle into a rhythm in the first set, Schwartz and Pearson were able to stay ahead of their Gunn counterparts with powerful serving and crisp volleying.
The poise of the Paly duo was on display at game point for the first set. Sparked by an incredible run by Schwartz to recover a ball far out of reach, the pair traded several lightning fast reaction volleys with Badkamkar and Narayen. Eventually the Vikings forced their opponents into a lob that Pearson finished with intensity, swinging the momentum in favor of the Vikings. With Schwartz’s volleying improving with every point and Pearson’s big serves resulting in soft returns, the duo won the match’s crucial points with precision and closed it out in tiebreak.
Entering the match, Schwartz and Pearson had known that the Gunn pair would be the toughest match of the day.
“Ishan [Badkamkar] and Sharen [Narayen] should have been seeded first,” Schwartz said. “They are a very good team and I have lost to them two years in a row in this tournament. It was good to finally win one against them.”
Along with making the SCVAL final, Schwartz and Pearson were also ensured a Central Coast Section tournament bid that came with being in the top two teams in the league.
After a 20-minute break, the Vikings were back on the court to play Lynbrook High School’s Steven Li and Davis Huang for the SCVAL doubles championship. Despite the pair’s number one seed, it was evident immediately that they were no match for Schwartz and Pearson. The Vikings dominated the match with their volleys and overheads in a lopsided contest. Behind Pearson’s powerful serves and the duo’s dominant net game, Paly won the first set in less than 30 minutes and claimed the league doubles title in less than an hour.
“The semifinal match was really the crucial one,” Schwartz said. “We played pretty well in the second match and I am thrilled to be going to CCS. Drew played really well and he’s the best partner I have ever been matched with.”
Pearson echoed his teammate’s excitement.
“I played pretty well,” Pearson said. “I am really excited to be going to CCS. Dan and I played well together. He played great and is a really good player.”
In the singles tournament, Wong, the number three seed, battled second-ranked Rajeev Hereker, also from Gunn. In a marathon three set match, Wong lost a heartbreaking 6-2, 6-7, 4-6 decision.
Still suffering the effects of an ankle injury he sustained two weeks ago, Wong fought heroically in a match of consistency. Both players hit groundstroke after groundstroke with deep topspin and never seemed to miss. It was not unusual for a rally to consist of 15 or more strokes as they searched for a weakness in each other’s game. Wong approached the net often in the first set, rushing Hereker’s rhythm and forcing an error. However, in the second set Wong faltered on several match points, allowing Hereker to roar back and eventually take the set in tiebreak.
After getting painfully close to victory, Wong sprung out to a 1-0 lead in the third set but became increasingly frustrated by his inability to corral Hereker’s shots. Fighting tenaciously with consistent groundstrokes and superb mobility, Wong ground through the third set, scrambling from corner to corner only to have Hereker’s powerful forehand catch him out of position. Losing the momentum he had gained from his impressive first set, Wong fell 4-6 in the third.
Wong was visibly frustrated by this loss, which relegated him to the consolation bracket, but his competitive fire shone through as he still wanted to play for third place, against the advice of his coach. Although exhausted from his last match, Wong rallied to a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Amreet Mohanty of Monta Vista High School. With a third place finish in league, Wong has a good chance of earning a bid CCS tournament based upon his record which should have enough victories to place him in the bracket.
The Vikings impressive level of play astonished head coach Andy Harader.
“The guys played absolutely incredible,” Harader said. “Sam [Wong] played very well against Rajeev [Hereker] who is a very, very good tennis player. He played a lot better than he did on Tuesday. The doubles team played incredible tennis and also improved over their performance yesterday. This is great for the team going into CCS, it is nice to have the players be at the top of their game.”
Heading into CCS, the Vikings look to continue their tremendous play after claiming the SCVAL team title late last week and the doubles championship today. With a solid singles lineup and a deep doubles rotation, Palo Alto has the talent to make a strong playoff run and possibly challenge CCS perennials Menlo School and Bellarmine College Preparatory.
The second round of CCS will be at 3:30 p.m. on May 8 at home against an opponent to be assigned at 6 p.m. on May 4.