SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION II TENNIS : Sunny Hills Dominates Riverside Poly in Semifinal

“You remember Sunny Hills?” No. 1 doubles player Kris Mueller of Riverside Poly asked an alumni during Thursday’s Southern Section Division II boys’ tennis semifinal.

“They’re still as good as ever,” Mueller said as he watched his team lose 17 2/3-3 2/3 to the division’s top-seeded team.

The defending champion Lancers dominated from the start, leading, 6-1, at the end of the first round. By the end of the second Sunny Hills led, 11 2/3-2 1/3.

Two come-from-behind victories by Sunny Hills (21-1) in first-round doubles stunned Riverside Poly (21-3).

The Lancers’ Joseph Gilbert and Joey Springer, playing at No. 2, took Brett Masi and Scott Merryman to a 6-6 tie. Down 1-6 in the tie-breaker, Gilbert and Springer scored seven consecutive points to take the set, 7-6 (8-6).

David Farkas and Jeff Hartl came back from a 4-5 deficit, breaking serve at 5-5 and defeating Mark Vanta and Paul Vargas, 7-5.

“The first round took a lot out of them,” Sunny Hills Coach Steve White said. “It took the pressure off us and put it all on them.”

The Lancers again lost only one set in round two, when Farkas and Hartl fell to Mueller and Jack Williams, 6-4. Gilbert and Springer went on to sweep their sets, 6-2, 7-6, 6-1, and No. 1 doubles team Kevin Kim and Hiren Bhavsar had no problems, losing only two games, 6-0, 6-1, 6-1.

“You have to win doubles, you always have had to,” White said. “Before we could develop our doubles, now we have to put our best players in so we can win.”

White has moved Kim, his top singles player and No. 1 in the nation in the 16-year-old division, to doubles and Gilbert, who won the Ojai Tournament 16s title also is playing doubles.

The Lancers now face Palm Desert, which defeated Redlands, 11-10. The final is Wednesday.

“I don’t care who we play. Redlands, Palm Desert and Poly are all about the same,” White said. “Actually, I think Poly is more consistent in keeping the ball in play than the other two.”