Singular Effort Fails Westlake; Harvard Cruises to Title Defense : Saracens Beat Pasadena Poly in 1-A Final, Then Debate Which Victory Came Easier

Although there was no confusion as to whom the Southern Section 1-A Division tennis champion was Wednesday afternoon--it was Harvard High, again--the relative difficulty of the match and the season depended on to whom one spoke.

The Saracens defeated Pasadena Poly, 11-7, at Caltech to win their second consecutive title.

“This one was a little easier,” Harvard Coach Harry Salamandra said while buffing soda and water--the spoils of victory--out of his hair with a towel.

And, from Harvard senior Peter Richards, whose doubles play Wednesday was instrumental: “It was a bit easier than last year. We had a lot of people back that had the talent to do it again.”

But, from No. 2 singles player Erik Chan, who won a pivotal match over Pasadena Poly’s No. 2, Tom Sitter: “It was harder than last year. The first time, you’re going after it. The second, you’re defending it. We were more the underdog today, so that worked to our advantage.”

Most advantageous, however, was Salamandra’s decision to team Richards, the Saracens’ regular No. 3 singles player, with Dan Rothenberg as the No. 1 doubles tandem. John Rosenberg was moved to the No. 3 singles spot.

Richards and Rothenberg swept their three sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, and Harvard won seven of the nine doubles sets in the round-robin format. Harvard’s Chris Pisano and Patrick List won two of their three sets, as did Justin Lu and Raj Vaswani.

Rosenberg was swept in his new singles role, but Sam Salant, the Saracens’ No. 1 singles player, and Chan each won two of three sets.

Chan’s victories included a first-round, 7-5 set against Sitter in the first round that was the tone-setter and gave the Saracens (21-3) early momentum.

Ryan McKee, the No. 1 singles player for Pasadena Poly (20-3), won his three sets, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0.