After suffering a 1-6 defeat to Carlmont on Monday in the PAL Championships, the Aragon boys’ varsity tennis team failed to qualify for CCS, but individual matches will continue. Aragon closed out the season with a 10-4 standing. Ranked third in its league standings, the team recently overcame Burlingame High School’s varsity team 4-3 in an extremely close playoff game last Friday.
Coach Dave Owdom says, “The only word I can use to [describe them] is that they have overachieved. We are a fairly young team so I never know what to expect [with them].”
Besides self motivation, a large portion of the team’s success lies upon its perseverance. Owdom says, “I gave them a tough schedule to start off with. They played very good people off the bat and got beat pretty solid.” Owdom arranged several games for the team early on in preparation for future games. He says, “You get beat up to get better.”
While some tennis teams may arrange their singles and doubles player matchups during games in an attempt to gain an edge, the team’s strength seems to lie solely on its players. Owdom says, “We’re strong enough in singles. Our doubles are strong. We are strong in both areas because we have depth. It is hard to manipulate ladders [with us] to win.”
Last Friday, Aragon faced Burlingame in a vital playoff game located on home courts. Though Aragon’s varsity team won, victory from either side was not clear from the beginning. The high heat brought in an increased level of fatigue for players from both sides.
Of the four doubles matches, three singles matches, and single exhibition doubles match, several did begin and end with strength. For instance, Aragon’s top ranked doubles players seniors Thomas Pauly and Alex Zha established a lead quickly in the first set of their match. Pauly consistently responded to Burlingame’s serves. The result was Aragon comfortably remaining up by three, winning the first set. In the second set, however, Burlingame outplayed Zha’s close distance game and won the set.
Though Aragon’s top ranked doubles re-established dominance with a victory in the third set, other players faced considerable challenges in matches that lasted over an hour. Top singles player Junior Rahul Joshi faced Burlingame freshman Scott Taggart. Taggart’s 6-2, 6-0 win gave Burling game a 1-0 lead. Joshi had also received two losses previously from Taggart.
Tensions rose in the number three singles match between sophomore Isaac Wang and Burlingame junior Forrest Tsu as more matches ended and scores grew increasingly closer to finalization. Faring a very long second set and intense heat, both players took frequent breaks to replenish stamina. Tsu’s victory in the second set brought utmost attention to this match; both Burlingame and Aragon were tied, thus, victory banked on the winner of the final set.
However, Wang responded to the pressure playing in a relaxed manner that contrasted with Tsu’s intensity. Seemingly endless rallies led by Tsu’s forehand abruptly stopped with Wang’s light drop shots and volleys. In this fashion, Wang won the third set, bringing Aragon to a 4-3 victory after an intensely scrutinized match.
With regards to the game, players are both surprised and pleased. Senior Evan Lee says, “It [could have been] the last time we ever [played] but we went for every shot we [could], and it worked.”
Though Aragon’s team season may be over, individual players will continue playoff matches.
