Das Succeeding at His Dual Role

It was a dual-match day like every other in the high school tennis career of Jeffrey Das. He did not lose.

Das, a junior at Fullerton Troy High, swept his three sets against Rio Mesa on Tuesday, helping the Warriors win on games, 76-71, after they tied, 9-9, in sets.

He is undefeated in dual-match sets (48-0) entering Troy’s Southern Section Division II semifinal match today at Santa Barbara.

“I really didn’t expect to be undefeated,” Das said. “I just wanted to do well for the team and win as many matches as I could.”

Das is also competing in the section’s individual tournament. He has advanced to the round of 16, which will be played Friday at the SeaCliff Tennis Club in Huntington Beach.

“I feel like I’m playing really well right now,” he said. “I’m hoping to get to the final, but I know it’s going to be tough. All the players are really tops, but I feel like I’m on that level now.”

Among his impressive victories was a 6-4 triumph over last year’s Southern Section singles runner-up, Patrick Buchanan of Servite, and a 7-6 (1) victory over Corona del Mar’s Cameron Ball.

“He’s by far our best player,” Coach George Vallance said of Das. “He’s solid. He very seldom has a bad game. He may have a bad point, but not a bad game.”

That has been fortunate for Troy (25-1), which has won 20 consecutive matches since losing to Corona del Mar.

“We’ve been able to count on him,” said Troy captain Andrew Jan, the team’s only senior.

“We’re always playing tough matches, and with him going 3-0, there’s always an opportunity for us to win.”

Das hasn’t been perfect this season. He did lose to Irvine University’s Aaron Yovan by a 10-8 margin in a super-tiebreaker third set of match play in the round of 16 last month at the Ojai Valley tournament.

Das also lost to Jamil Al-Agba of Camarillo in three sets after winning the first set in the round of 32 at the U.S. Tennis Assn. Easter Bowl/Super National Championships in Palm Springs.

Despite the losses, Das said he was happy with his play in both tournaments because he has moved from the boys’ 16 division to 18s this year. He has been re-tooling his game, trying to improve his serve-and-volley play, come to the net from the baseline and mix up his shots more.

Das and Troy will try to extend their seasons beyond what they accomplished last year, when Das lost in the round of 16 to eventual champion Doug Stewart in the individual tournament and the Warriors fell in the semifinals to Irvine Woodbridge.

Das’ play this season has helped steady a squad that includes three freshmen.

“He’s the backbone of our team,” Vallance said. “He works hard at his game, he plays all the time, and he’s gotten a lot stronger.”