Dos Pueblos has won four boys tennis matches by a 15-3 margin this year, but it wasn’t so easy on Wednesday.
The Chargers (8-1) tied visiting San Luis Obispo (6-1) 9-9 in sets and pulled out the victory in games, 73-30, avenging an 11-7 loss to the Tigers from last season. SLO features singles star Julian Arnold, who is ranked 14th in the Southern California 18s by the USTA.
Dos Pueblos led 4-2 after the first round, in which Malcolm Sutton and Jake Roberts battled back from an 0-3 deficit to win their set 6-4.
The second round was tied 3-3, with Christian Edstrom grinding it out in a set that lasted over an hour.
“He showed us that he is the drop-shot master. The set didn’t go his way, but he gave us five games,” said coach Liz Frech.
The Chargers won just two sets in the third round to cause the 9-9 tie, but Eric Katz and Peter Shao picked up four games, as did Richard Cheng.
Then came a little bit of courtside mental math.
“Mark Silverstein, a parent, and I counted up games to see where we stood. We won by 3 games (73-70),” said Frech.
DOS PUEBLOS 9, SAN LUIS OBISPO 9 (DP wins in games, 73-70)
SIngles — DP: Sasha Gryaznov 2-1, Christian Edstrom 1-2, Richard Cheng 1-2. SLO: James Campbell 2-1, Julian Arnold 3-0, Coco Angulo 0-3.
Doubles — DP: Eric Katz/Peter Shao 1-2, Malcolm Sutton/Jake Roberts 2-1, Andy Silverstein/Austin Cano 2-1. SLO: Jared Belsher/Matt Will 3-0, Robbie Milla/Peter Angulo 1-2, Kyle Morton/Sam Moskovic 0-3.
