Maranatha High boys’ tennis just comes up short versus Santa Fe
LOS ANGELES — On one hand, the Maranatha High boys’ tennis team never really anticipated it would reach Wednesday afternoon.
A squad that didn’t expect to win its second-ever Olympic League title, make its farthest postseason push in school history and be within one final step of advancing to the program’s first-ever CIF Southern Section championship could have been content with all the aforementioned accolades.
PHOTOS: Maranatha vs. Santa Fe CIF Playoff tennis
Yet, on the other hand, there was a tinge of disappointment mixed with tears, as a great opportunity slipped away late for the third-seeded Minutemen, who fell to visiting second-seeded Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe High, 10-8, in Wednesday’s CIF Southern Section Division V semifinal match at Occidental College.
The victory vaults the Del Rio League runner-up Chiefs (15-3) into the program’s first title-match appearance Friday versus Del Rio League rival El Rancho at the Claremont Club.
As for the Minutemen, a 13-6 final record and a medley of honors will have to be their consolation.
“When we started this season, no one expected this,” Minutemen Coach Arthur Hsieh said. “Who knew we’d get to this point?
“But saying that, I thought after our second-round playoff match that this might be a team that could take home a title. It just didn’t happen. This was a close-fought match and Santa Fe pulled it out.”
The Minutemen trailed the Chiefs, 8-7, with three sets remaining and were also behind in games, 59-49, meaning that Maranatha would likely need to sweep to win the match.
Maranatha completed the first leg of its must-win trifecta when its No. 1 doubles team of Wesley Oliver and Chris Chun won four straight games in defeating Santa Fe’s No. 3 twosome, 6-2.
“We really worked hard and communicated well,” Oliver said. “I think that’s what this team really did well this year.”
The win tied the match at 8 and brought the Minutemen within 61-55 in games.
Yet, any momentum hoped to be gained after the triumph quickly fizzled as Chiefs junior Sebastian Rebollero put the match out of reach with a 6-1 victory in his final set. The point put Santa Fe ahead, 9-8, but more importantly, up 66-56 in games, which was insurmountable.
The contest, however, didn’t go to games as Chiefs No. 3 singles player Josh Rojo picked up an upset 6-3 victory to cement the final score of 10-8.
“Those guys, Josh and Sebastian, had no idea their sets were for the championship,” Chiefs Coach Tony Chavarria said. “They just went out and played.”
Hsieh had hoped for a little magic from his No. 3 singles or doubles players, moving down his normal third singles player into doubles action, while switching one of the displaced doubles players into the third singles spot.
The move did not draw the desired effect, as Maranatha was 0-6 in the No. 3 slot.
“The third spot has been a problem for us all year and I hoped that if I moved around a couple of players we could get an extra win or two,” Hsieh said. “If we only get two wins, we’re heading to the finals.”
Daniel Hsieh led the Minutemen on Wednesday, as the singles ace dropped only one game in winning his three sets 6-1, 6-0, 6-1.Unfortunately for Hsieh, Maranatha only produced one more singles win from Stephane Splichal.
On the doubles side, Oliver and Chun finished 2-1, winning 6-4, 6-2, while Noah Schlenker and Darren Gee also won two sets, 6-3, 6-2.
“I don’t think we had the same talent as last year. In fact, this was probably one of our least-talented teams, but we found ways to win together,” Schlenker said. “I don’t know what it was, but it was special to be a part of this team and accomplish so much. We’ll have that to be proud of.”