Boys’ tennis: Breaking down the Southern Section team finals
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Wednesday’s Southern Section-Toyota Division I final at the Claremont Club between Irvine University and Santa Barbara has all the makings of a classic. The reigning champion Trojans (24-0), led by senior Jason Lin, should get the ultimate challenge from the second-ranked Dons (27-0), who counter with top player Daniel Nguyen.
This one is too close to call. Santa Barbara beat University in the finals of the All-American Championships in Corona del Mar in April, but that match was played under different scoring rules than the round-robin format employed by the Southern Section.
Here’s a quick rundown on the finalists in the other four divisions:
Division II -- Might be the most unpredictable match of the day. Palm Desert (21-1) pulled off the biggest upset of the playoffs, knocking off defending champion and top-seeded San Marino, 10-8, in the semifinals. Daniel Reinhart and Tanner Emerson swept at No. 2 doubles to key the Aztecs’ victory.
Diamond Bar is determined to make amends for last year’s loss to San Marino in the finals. Paced by seniors Victor Chien and Sam Kim, the second-seeded Brahmas (23-1) have lost only once, 11-7, to San Marino.
Division III -- Top-seeded Brentwood (17-6), playing in its 11th consecutive final, is led by Walker Kehrer, a semifinalist at last week’s Individual singles tournament, and the doubles pair of Jackson Isaacs and Chris Lord, also Individual semifinalists.
Beverly Hills (20-4) boasts a formidable singles lineup with sophomore Daniel Ho, junior Gary Parizher and senior David Vizner. Brentwood beat Beverly Hills, 10-8, in a nonleague match April 16.
Division IV -- No surprise here. The top two seeded teams square off for the title after each won impressively in the semifinals. Cerritos (23-3), seeded No. 1, polished off Buckley, 13-5, while second-seeded Rowland (19-2) proved its mettle with a 10-8 victory over third-seeded Viewpoint, which edged Cerritos on games to win the title last spring.
Look for Cerritos to prevail in a competitive match that will be decided by a few key doubles sets.
Division V -- Second-seeded Thacher (11-3) hasn’t played as many matches but figures to be the favorite with singles player McCoy Becker and three solid doubles teams, including Sean O’Brien and John Lehrkind, who swept in the Toads’ 10-8 semifinal victory over Segerstrom.
La Salle (20-4), seeded fourth, comes in equally confident after knocking off defending champion Cate, 11-7, in the other semifinal. The Lancers are led by singles ace Kevin Sitwala.
Click here for the times and matchups for Wednesday’s team finals.
-- Steve Galluzzo