Palm Desert’s Planck Steps Forward
Palm Desert’s Cale Planck doesn’t get many opportunities to take center stage during the season because of his school’s remote location. When presented with that scenario Friday at the 104th Ojai Valley tennis tournament, he turned in a virtuoso performance.
Planck, a junior, advanced to the tournament’s final day by defeating second-seeded Blake Muller of Santa Barbara, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the California Interscholastic Federation boys’ singles division.
“This was one of my better wins of the season,” Planck said after his victory, which sends him to the semifinals today against Thousand Oaks’ Sam Querrey.
Muller, who had little trouble in his first three matches at Ojai, struggled with his first serve in the quarterfinal match.
That allowed Planck, a dominant baseline player, to take a full forehand swing off Muller’s serve.
Planck hadn’t defeated Muller in his last few attempts, including a one-set loss in nonleague play on March 12.
This is Planck’s second semifinal appearance at Ojai. In 2002, he lost to Santa Ana Mater Dei’s Kaes Van’t Hof in the boys’ 16-and-under division.
The two could meet again today if both win their semifinal matches.
Van’t Hof faces Claremont senior Alex Lane.
In a match defined by blistering forehands, Lane used superior court coverage and endurance to fend off his main regional nemesis, Baseline League standout Jonathan Calienes of Ayala, 6-3, 6-4.
“I spun him off the court and got him out of his comfort zone,” said Lane, who had never advanced past the round of 16.
Lane’s recent surge of energy is largely because of an eight-mile run and footwork-based obstacle course he added to his daily workout over spring break.
Entering the final day of competition, Mater Dei is poised to repeat as champion. The Monarchs have eight points to San Diego Torrey Pines’ seven.
A Van’t Hof singles victory or a doubles victory from Wes Burrows and Chris Kearney will clinch a share of the title for Mater Dei.
Burrows and Kearney face Redondo’s Nathan Stadler and Nick Berger in the doubles semifinals.
Last season, the same Redondo team defeated a team of Burrows and Randy Herral from Mater Dei in the quarterfinals. Van’t Hof reached the finals, where he lost to Fullerton Troy’s Jeffrey Das.
Kelly Stewart of Malibu and Lyndsay Kinstler of Downey are two of the top girls’ players remaining. They are in opposite sides of the semifinal draw in the girls’ 16 division.