Southern Section

Saturday, May 29

SOUTHERN SECTION INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
At SeaCliff Tennis Club, Huntington Beach

By 11 a.m. Saturday, Santa Ana Mater Dei’s Kaes Van’t Hof had completed his final task as a high school student. All that remained was closure to his prep tennis career.

Placed at the front of the line of graduating seniors, Van’t Hof received his diploma in Irvine then hustled to SeaCliff Tennis Club in Huntington Beach, where a noon Southern Section individual tournament semifinal match awaited.

Five hours later, after defeating top-seeded Blake Muller of Santa Barbara, 6-3, 7-6 (3), in the finals, Van’t Hof proudly accepted another mark of achievement: the boys’ singles championship plaque.

“[The tennis victory] was more exciting,” Van’t Hof said in comparing the day’s two events. “I knew I’d be graduating for four years. I didn’t know I was going to win this tournament.”

With the victory, Van’t Hof becomes Mater Dei’s first singles champion and the only son of a former Southern Section champion to take the title. His father, Robert, won the event in 1976.

Van’t Hof, seeded second in the draw, broke Muller’s serve in the second game of the match - the only break in the entire contest. Van’t Hof’s overpowering first serve and ground strokes proved too much for Muller, who had won a draining, three-set semifinal match over Anaheim Servite’s Jonathan Sanchez earlier in the day.

Van’t Hof defeated Irvine Woodbridge’s Mike McClune, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, in the semifinal round and did not want the championship match going to a third set.

“I was trying to end points quickly,” said Van’t Hof, who lost a three-set match in the tiebreaker of the CIF boys’ singles division final at the Ojai Valley tennis tournament last month.

Van’t Hof’s next scholastic sporting event will be at USC, where he starts in the fall. Muller, a junior, will likely be a college teammate of Van’t Hof’s in 2005.

In the doubles draw, Redondo’s Andy Gerst and Nick Berger defeated teammates Jon Vlasach and Logan Bailey, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, in the championship match.

Juniors Gerst and Berger had advanced to the round of 16 and quarterfinals in consecutive seasons.

Seniors Vlasach and Bailey, Redondo’s No. 1 singles team for most of this season, beat Berger and Gerst in the Ocean League championship match earlier in the month but had little luck against the pair before that contest.

After a sloppy first set for Gerst and Berger, the duo took control from the net down the stretch, prompting a long-awaited, yet somewhat subdued celebration.

“We’ve been wanting this since our freshmen years,” said Berger, who helped defeat top-seeded Grant Robertson and Chris Ho of Santa Barbara, 6-2, 6-1, in the semifinals.

“I wish [the victory] would have come against another team.”
--Elia Powers

SINGLES: (Semifinals) Blake Muller, Santa Barbara, d. Jonathan Sanchez, Servite, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7); Kaes Van’t Hof, Mater Dei, d. Mike McClune, Woodbridge, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. (Finals) Van’t Hof d. Muller, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

DOUBLES: (Semifinals) Nick Berger-Andy Gerst, Redondo, d. Grant Robertson-Chris Ho, Santa Barbara, 6-2, 6-1; Jon Vlasach-Logan Bailey, Redondo, d. Jake Smith-Eric Lee, Calabasas, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. (Finals) Berger-Gerst d. Vlasach-Bailey, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Friday, May 28

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

Semifinals

DIVISION V

Oakwood 11, Milken 7
Justin Levine and Calvin Robertson swept 6-0, 6-0, 6-4 at No. 2 doublesfor host Oakwood (12-5) at Studio City Tennis Center. Benji Davis swept6-1, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 singles for Milken (13-3). The Wildcats advanceto the finals Wednesday at The Claremont Club.

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
at SeaCliff Tennis Club in Huntington Beach

SINGLES

Round of 16

Blake Muller, Santa Barbara, d. Robert Khoury, Newport Harbor, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Gregory Sturman, Sunny Hills, d. Nathan Stadler, Redondo, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Andrew Mateljan, Redlands, d. Alex Lane, Claremont, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Jonathan Sanchez, Servite, d. Geoffrey Chizever, Viewpoint, 6-1, 6-1.
Jason Jung, W. Torrance, d. Jony Chai, Cerritos, 6-2, 6-1.
Mike McClune, Woodbridge, d. Cale Planck, Palm Desert, 6-2, 6-4.
Patrick Sosnowski, Warren, d. Jon Bowman, Brethren Christian, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Kaes Van’t Hof, Mater Dei, d. Tom McCullough, Flintridge Prep, 7-6 (2), 6-1.

Quarterfinals

Muller d. Sturman, 6-2, 6-3.
Sanchez d. Mateljan, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
McClune d. Jung, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.
Van’t Hof d. Sosnowski, 6-2, 6-3.

DOUBLES

Round of 16

Grant Robertson-Chris Ho, Santa Barbara, d. Jay Gill-David Gomez, Arlington, 6-1, 6-1.
Kellan Webb-Mike Sindoni, Palm Desert, d. Sean Pham-Alex Nguyen, Corona del Mar, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Roberto Olmos-Michael Ramsey, Los Alamitos, d. Garrison Comstock-Brandon Bhagat, Peninsula, 6-3, 6-1.
Nick Berger-Andy Gerst, Redondo, d. Evan Paley-Max Elins, Brentwood, 6-3, 6-1.
Jake Smith-Eric Lee, Calabasas, d. Jared Kamel-A.J. Ahluwalia, Capistrano Valley, 7-6 (0), 6-1.
Corey Harris-Leland Buttle, Los Alamitos, d. Nick Mok-Kei Muta, Irv. University, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Nuntat Vachirongkol-Natthan Vachirongkol, Paramount, d. Max Ortiz-Jeff Niedermeyer, Loyola, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Logan Bailey-Jon Vlasach, Redondo, d. Josh Lau, Sean Mulyanto, Ayala, 6-2, 6-4.

Quarterfinals

Robertson-Ho d. Webb-Sindoni, 6-1, 6-4.
Berger-Gerst d. Ramsey-Olmos, 6-1, 6-3.
Smith-Lee d. Buttle-Harris, 6-3, 6-3.
Bailey-Vlasach d. Vachirongkol-Vachirongkol, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Wednesday at The Claremont Club

Division III: Redlands (22-2) vs. Long Beach Poly (21-3), 11 a.m.
Division II: Palm Desert (23-1) vs. Sunny Hills (21-2), 11:30 a.m.
Division I: Loyola (20-3) vs. Harvard-Westlake (21-0), 1 p.m.
Division V: Oakwood (12-5) vs. Viewpoint (20-2), 2 p.m.
Division IV: Redondo (24-0) vs. Brentwood (16-4), 2:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 27

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

Semifinals

DIVISION I

Harvard-Westlake 9, Santa Barbara 9 (Harvard-Westlake won on games, 84-79)
Blake Muller swept at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, and Grant Robertson and Christopher Ho swept at No. 1 doubles, 7-6, 6-2, 6-0, for host No. 3-seeded Santa Barbara (21-2). Top-seeded Harvard-Westlake improves to 21-0.

Loyola 11, Woodbridge 7
Loyola won seven out of nine doubles matches, and No. 1 singles Bryan Ross took two of three sets for the Cubs (20-3). Woodbridge, ranked No. 5 by The Times and the fourth-seeded team in the draw, finishes at 23-4.

DIVISION II

Palm Desert 10, Troy 8
Cale Planck who swept at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-0, 6-0, and Jordan Colman also swept at No. 2 singles, 7-6, 6-1, 6-0, to lead visiting No. 1 seeded Palm Desert (23-1), which won eight out of the nine singles sets.

Sunny Hills 11, Arcadia 7
Hiro Koda and Justin Saeheng won at No. 2 doubles, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Sahand Sepehrnia and Peter Lin won at No. 3 doubles, 6-7, 7-5, 7-5, for host Arcadia (19-2). Second-seeded Sunny Hills improves to 21-2.

DIVISION III

Long Beach Poly 9, Pasadena Poly 9 (Long Beach Poly wins on games, 78-75)
Juniors Alex Oberjuerge and Jaryl Barnum overcame a 2-4 deficit in the final set to win, 6-4, at No. 2 doubles and tie the match score at 9-9 for visiting second-seeded Long Beach Poly (21-3). Pasadena Poly finishes 16-7.

Redlands 9, Chadwick 9 (Redlands wins on games, 81-66)
Andrew Mateljan swept at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, to lead host No. 1-seeded Redlands (22-2).

DIVISION IV

Brentwood 15, Cerritos 3
Visiting No. 2-seeded Brentwood improves to 16-4.

Redondo 12, Walnut 6
Andy Gerst swept at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, Nathan Stadler won at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0, and the doubles team of Nick Berger and Chance Finley swept, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, to lead visiting top-seeded Redondo (24-0). Walnut finishes 20-3.

DIVISION V

Viewpoint 11, Cate 7
Geoffrey Chizever swept, 6-1, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 3 singles to improve his record to 77-0 on the season for visiting Viewpoint (20-2). Richie Cheetham won, 6-0, 6-0, 1-6, at No. 1 singles and No. 2 singles Chris Alvarez also won two sets for Cate (13-8).

Tuesday, May 25

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinals

DIVISION I

Harvard-Westlake 17, Beverly Hills 1
Jon Kasirer swept three sets at No. 2 singles, and Tim Root and Bret Thacher swept at No. 1 doubles for host Harvard-Westlake (20-0).

Loyola 11, Corona Del Mar 7
The Cubs’ No. 1 and 2 doubles team swept their sets, and No. 1 singles Bryan Ross took two of three sets. Corona del Mar (20-2 )is the top-seeded team in the draw and last season’s team champion. Loyola improves to 19-3.

Santa Barbara 11, Mater Dei 7
The No. 1 doubles team of Christopher Ho and Grant Robertson swept, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1, for third-seeded Santa Barbara (21-1), which won eight of nine doubles sets. Kaes Van’t Hof of Mater Dei (16-5) defeated Santa Barbara’s Blake Muller, 6-4, in a showdown at No. 1 singles.

Woodbridge 12, Peninsula 6
Woodbridge improves to 21-2.

DIVISION II

Arcadia 11, Diamond Bar 7
Hiro Koda and Justin Saeheng swept at No. 2 doubles, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0, to lead host Arcadia (19-1).

Palm Desert 17, Rio Mesa 1
All three singles and two doubles teams swept for top seed Palm Desert (22-1). Rio Mesa finished 17-1.

Sunny Hills 13, Anaheim Canyon 5
Greg Sturman swept at No. 1 singles for Sunny Hills (20-2). Scott Hohenstein of Canyon (16-4) took two of three sets.

Troy 13, San Marino 5
No. 1 singles Larry Wang swept, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, for Troy (24-2), and No. 1 doubles Henry Yan and Andrew Hyun, 6-0, 6-1, 6-1. Fourth-seeded Troy faces top-seeded Palm Desert in a semifinal contest Thursday. San Marino finishes at 14-7.

DIVISION III

Chadwick 14, Bolsa Grande 4
Austin Moller swept, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 1 singles, Kevin Bennett swept, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3 singles and Cyrus Shahriari and Chris Reed swept, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 1 doubles for host Chadwick (14-3). Bolsa Grande finishes 20-2.

Long Beach Poly 16, Riverside Poly 2
Pierre Batton swept, 6-0, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 1 singles, Albert Barnum and Miguel Rodriguez swept, 7-6, 6-0, 6-2, No. 1 doubles and Steve Thai and Huber Barnum swept, 6-2, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 3 doubles to lead visiting Long Beach Poly (20-3), seeded No. 2. Riverside Poly finishes 18-5.

Pasadena Poly 13, Chaparral 5
Alex Krueger-Wyman swept at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, Alex Caughron swept at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1, and Brad Diephuis and Jan Lee swept at No. 1 doubles, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, to lead visiting Pasadena Poly (16-6) past Chaparral (20-3).

Redlands 11, Webb 7
No. 1-seeded Redlands is 21-2; Webb finishes 9-6.

DIVISION IV

Brentwood 18, Palos Verdes 0
No. 3-seeded Brentwood (15-4) plays No. 2-seeded Cerritos Thursday at 2:00 p.m. Palos Verdes finishes 12-6.

Cerritos 14, Paramount 4
No. 1 singles Jony Chai won his sets, 6-0, 6-0, before being subbed out for Cerritos (21-2) in the third round. The No. 1 doubles team of James Lee and Troy Chin won their sets, 6-0, 6-0, 6-1. The Dons will play Brentwood in the semifinals on Thursday.

Redondo 15, Schurr 3
Andy Gerst swept at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-0, 6-0, and Jon Vlasach and Logan Bailey swept at No. 1 doubles, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 to lead host Redondo (23-0) past Schurr (15-4).

Walnut 12, San Gabriel 6
Shawn Yang and Alvin Luk swept at No. 1 doubles, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, and Evan Kohn and Jeff Kawilarang swept at No. 2 doubles, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to lead visiting Walnut (19-2).

DIVISION V

Cate 13, Sge Hill 5
Richie Cheetham swept at No. 1 singles, 7-6, 6-1, 6-0, and Chris Alvarez swept at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 7-5, 6-3, for visiting Cate (13-7). Fourth-seeded Sage Hill finishes 17-9.

Milken 9, Villanova Prep 9 (Milken wins on games, 74-67)
Benji Davis swept three sets at No. 1 singles for host Milken (13-2).

Oakwood 11, Whitney 7
Oakwood is 11-5; top-seeded Whitney finishes at 23-4.

Viewpoint 12, King 6
Geoffrey Chizever swept at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-0, 6-1, to lead host Viewpoint (19-2) past King (18-4).