Villa Park Rallies to Win Title

Villa Park rallied in dramatic fashion to beat Alhambra Keppel, 10-9, Tuesday at the Orange County Badminton Club and win its third consecutive Southern Section badminton title, but the Spartans may not have a chance at No. 4.

Coach Sherry Smith said after the match that she has been told by Athletic Director Frank Becker that Villa Park may not have the money to fund a team next season.

A rally in the final match of the day by the No. 2 doubles team of Jennifer Bai and Sharon Liu against Keppel’s No. 1 team of Jennifer Liu and Carol Tsung clinched the victory.

Third-seeded Villa Park (17-0) and Keppel were even at nine games apiece and the doubles match was tied at one game each when Bai and Sharon Liu fell behind Jennifer Liu and Tsung, 14-4, in the final game.

But the Villa Park duo got Liu and Tsung out of sync and pulled out an emotional 17-15 win that sealed the victory over the top-seeded Aztecs (15-1).

Villa Park, which took a 5-3 lead, was in trouble after falling behind, 9-7, following a 17-15, 13-15, 15-10 win by the No. 1 Keppel doubles team of Frederick Adi and Brian Pham over Eric Go and Victor Liu. But the Spartans won the final three matches.

-- Paul McLeod

Despite a rash of injuries, unseeded Santa Barbara (18-3) has advanced to the Southern Section Division I boys’ tennis championship match against top-seeded Corona del Mar (23-0) at 11 a.m. today at The Claremont Club.

The Dons’ No. 1 player, sophomore Blake Muller, has been out all season with a fractured vertebra in his back.

Sophomore Grant Robertson, at No. 2 singles, suffered a broken hand two weeks ago and missed the first two playoff matches before deciding to play.

He picked up key victories in support of the Dons’ exceptional doubles play in the next two rounds.

Freshman A.J. Stein, at No. 3 singles, has been hampered by a wrist injury and was sidelined for two matches.

Sore elbows have hampered the play of both members of the top doubles team, Chase Muller and Kerry Wheeler, as well as No. 2 doubles player Ethan Witt.

“I am so proud of these guys,” Coach Aaron Webster said after the team advanced to its first Division I title match since 1995. “We knew we had a lot of depth, but once the injuries started, I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

Santa Barbara, a Division II semifinalist last season, is riding a 12-match winning streak.

In today’s Division II boys’ tennis final, second-seeded Fullerton Troy (27-3) will be looking to reverse its only loss this season in a round-robin format when the Warriors take on Palm Desert (23-1) at 11:30 a.m. at The Claremont Club.

The teams played to a 9-9 tie in sets, but Palm Desert won on games, 75-73, when the doubles team of Mike Sindoni and Kellan Webb won, 6-4, in the last set of a nonleague match in March.

However, Troy was without its No. 2 player, Larry Wang, because of an injury, but he’s back.

Top-seeded Palm Desert has won 13 consecutive matches with a team that includes four juniors, six sophomores and four freshmen. Sophomore Cale Planck is the top player for the Aztecs, who won the Division IV title last season.

-- Lauren Peterson