Kao Is a Happy Cramper at Ojai

Sunny Hills senior Joseph Kao couldn’t have won his Friday quarterfinal match in the Ojai boys’ interscholastic singles in more dramatic fashion if he’d scripted it.

As he slammed a forehand winner down the line, Kao went down as if he’d been shot. Kao screamed and grabbed his right thigh as his dejected opponent, Burbank’s Tigran Martiroysan, walked off the court, wondering what happened to the player who just beat him, 7-5, 7-5.

Fortunately for Kao, he was only suffering from a major cramp in his right quadriceps. More fortunately, his forehand landed in. Otherwise, Kao might not be playing Paul Warkentin of San Marcos in the semifinals today.

“There’s a very high possibility I wouldn’t have been able to continue,” said Kao, who stayed on the ground for five minutes as his muscle contracted. “I would have had to take eight to 10 minutes to recover.”

Players are allowed only five minutes for an injury, but Kao said he was already thinking ahead.

“I would have used a bathroom break too,” he said, laughing.

Kao, playing his second match of the day, said he began cramping early in the second set.

“That’s why I had so little on my serve,” he said. “I didn’t want to foster the cramping. I thought if I pushed off any more with my legs, they might go.”

Late in the second set, Kao briefly forgot about cramps while he disputed the game score with Martiroysan. Serving at 4-5, Kao thought the game score should have been 40-love in his favor. Martiroysan argued that he should be leading 30-15. After referees and tournament officials got involved, Kao settled for a 30-love advantage.

The dispute fired up Kao and distracted him from his pain. He won the next six points to go up, 6-5. As he rallied during the match point, Kao said he felt his right thigh begin to tighten.

“Fortunately, he gave me a short ball that I could put away,” he said.

Kao finds himself in the Ojai semifinals for the second year in a row. Last year, he lost to University’s Henry Mak in the boys’ 16s.

“I’m happy to have a chance to win Ojai,” Kao said. “Not many people can put an Ojai championship on their resume.”

Not many people can put an SAT score of 1,470 and an acceptance letter from Stanford on their resume either, but that’s what Kao has. Although he was not given an athletic scholarship, Kao said he will be given the chance to earn one.

“If I’m still on the team by my junior year, I’ll get a half [scholarship],” said Kao, who plans to major in business and minor in international relations. “I’m looking forward to working on my game and making sure my studies are up to par.”

Kao could have saved his parents some money and pursued a full ride at a lesser tennis and academic school, but he had his heart set on Stanford.

“A lot of it’s the honor and the prestige of going to Stanford,” said Kao, who said he will apply for grants. “It’s just the perfect environment for me and the ambience is so special.”

Friday, the ending was pretty special too.