Boys’ tennis: Huang returns to spark Uni’s resounding victory

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High school tennis in Southern California doesn’t get much bigger than Thursday afternoon’s nonleague showdown between unbeaten Division I powerhouses University and Mater Dei.

Inspired by the presence of singles player John Huang, who flew home to Irvine Wednesday night after withdrawing from the USTA Spring Nationals in Mobile, Ala., the host Trojans routed their Orange County rivals, 15-3, to bolster their position atop the rankings.

Huang (pictured) won two matches Wednesday to advance to the fourth round of the Super Nationals backdraw before a back injury forced him to default to Brentwood junior Walker Kehrer. Even on a short night’s rest, Huang managed to beat fourth-ranked Mater Dei’s two best singles players, Chris Freeman and Charlie Alvarado, before being subbed out of the third round with the match already decided.

‘I was fully expecting John not to be there or, if he was, that he’d be too exhausted to play,’ University Coach John Kessler said. ‘It shows his commitment to our team. Frankly, I’m shocked that we won by this score and I hope the kids don’t get overconfident.’

University showed why it is the defending section champion by sweeping the first six sets in the round-robin format. Despite battling the flu, No. 1 player Jason Lin won two sets before being replaced and No. 3 player Matt Siow swept, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.

The real surprise, though, was the Trojans’ dominance in doubles, where they earned seven of a possible nine points. Michael Tang and Ryan Cheung swept, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 2, including a victory over the Monarchs’ top tandem of Ryan Agbayani and Rickey Baylon, who hadn’t lost in seven previous matches.

-- Steve Galluzzo

-- Image from www.ustaboys.com