The Santa Barbara boys tennis team lost its final two matches at the All-American Tournament on Saturday, but head coach Steve Geremia said the Dons don’t have any reason to hang heads their heads, having placed fourth at arguably the most competitive scholastic team tourney in the country.
“No we didn’t win the tournament but we did finish fourth which is basically fourth in the country,” rationalized Geremia. “We were very competitive throughout the tournament.”
Santa Barbara won two matches against South Carolina’s Wakima High and third-seeded Menlo on Friday before being stopped in the semifinals by Thousand Oaks on Saturday, then lost the third-place match to Florida’s Gulliver Prep.
The event, held at four different locations in Newport Beach over two days, invites 16 of the nation’s top programs. Santa Barbara, which won the prestigious tournament last season for the second time, was in a field with teams from as far off as New York, Florida, Washington and Hawaii.
University High, ranked No. 1 in CIF Division I, defeated the Lancers in the final to win this year’s title.
University, Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara are 1-2-3 in the CIF polls.
Seniors Evan Teufel and Bill Grokenberger led the way for Santa Barbara. Grokenberger posted four wins and Teufel five on the day. Chase Melton was also a big point-getter for the Dons over the weekend.
It’s been a grueling week for the Dons, who played competitive matches six days in a row. Along with his players, Geremia credited assistant coach Greg Tebbe with working hard during this preseason to help the team improve and it’s starting to pay off.
