On May 6, the Dons’ boys varsity tennis team (15-6 overall) defeated the Mountain View Vikings (13-5 overall) by a score of 5-2 in the first round of Central Coast Section playoffs. The Dons’ CCS campaign followed a dominant season that ended in their third consecutive Peninsula Athletic League title.
Despite the Dons’ continued success, grabbing the top spot came as a surprise to many on the team, with the departure of last years’ senior class forcing the Dons’ team to turn to many new players for the 2026 season.
“We lost a lot of talent off last year’s team,” said head coach David Owdom. “No way I thought they’d be the champions of the league … but these guys proved they’re champions. They proved me … wrong.”
The team clinched the top spot on April 22 in their final match of the season, which came against the Carlmont Scots (9-3 league).
In No. 1 singles, senior Veraaz Khan squared off against the top ranked PAL player, the Scots’ sophomore Lucas Rowe.
“We knew going in, their number one guy is the best player in the league,” Owdom said. “So we knew that was going to be tough.”
Veraaz Khan was unable to come out on top, falling 6-0, 6-0.
“I wish I was more consistent and [didn’t] miss as frequently,” Veraaz Khan said. “[I wish I] played longer rallies.”
Senior Darrin O’Brien and sophomore Azmir Khan claimed singles No. 3 and 4, and each doubles set went to the Dons, giving them a 5-1 lead.
No. 2 singles player Pacôme Polly was the final Don playing Wednesday night, locked in a tiebreaker battle with Carlmont’s Aaron Zhang. With a crowd gathered outside the court, Polly won the tiebreaker 11-9, securing a 6-1 victory for the Dons.
CCS spot clinched, the Dons began looking forward to their first match of the playoffs.
“There’s 12 automatic bids and 12 at large bids,” Owdom said. “We’re an automatic … There’s a team tournament for the other automatic bid, which we avoid because we won.”
With the playoff tournament comprising the top teams in the section, the Dons were also looking forward to playing against more prestigious opponents.
“There are really fantastic players [in the playoffs],” Veraaz Khan said. “And since they play singles one, they’re people [that] are gonna be committed for tennis, which is not me. So … it’s good exposure to play with really good players.”
The Mountain View Vikings visited the Dons on May 6 in a first round CCS playoff matchup, which featured four super-tiebreakers.
The Dons were already in the lead when the match kicked off at 4 p.m., as the Vikings, who were missing a player, forfeited singles No. 4 to Azmir Khan.
The first tiebreaker of the day came in singles No. 1, where Veraaz Khan won the tiebreaker 10-6 after splitting his first two sets. O’Brien found himself in the same situation in singles No. 3, winning his tiebreaker 10-8.
The Dons slipped in doubles No. 1 and No. 2, with a third tiebreaker deciding the latter by a score of 4-10.
Sophomore Linus Feng and junior Kian Cheung put the Dons back on track in doubles No. 3, winning both sets with ease.
“I had a lot of mental resilience,” Cheung said. “Normally we win the first set and then we lose [the] second one because we don’t keep the same level [of] intensity, but [we] just [stayed] in the moment and [tried] to really finish the match.”
In singles No. 2, Polly was the last Don playing in a close third set tiebreaker, with his teammates cheering from the sidelines. Again, Polly pulled through, winning 10-8 as the Dons cruised to a 5-2 win and a trip to a second round playoff match two days later.
“Everyone really wants to have fun,” Cheung said. “They all enjoy being there, and we all hype each other up. If my teammates are cheering [for] me, [I] try to do better, try to improve every shot.”
The Dons’ season ended unceremoniously in the second round at Homestead High School on May 8, where the hosting Mustangs won all seven matches to advance past the second round.
