The Santa Barbara Dons quest for a record fifth-straight Griggs Cup is alive and well after four wins in singles and doubles at the Ojai Valley Tournament on Thursday.
Spencer Simon advanced to the round of 16 without dropping a set and the Dons’ doubles entry, Bill Grokenberger and Chase Melton, had an even easier two wins. Simon defeated Cate’s Geoffrey Mak in the opening round 6-1, 6-0 and took down Westview’s Michael Saria 6-2, 6-1 next. Melton and Grokenberger beat teams from Loyola and Poway, winning 24-of-27 games played in four sets.
The Griggs Cup goes to the prep school with the most overall success at the Ojai Tournament. Each school is allowed one doubles entry and one singles entry. Every win is worth a point and the school with the most points at the end is crowned.
“We’re the defending champion so you can’t discount us, but I don’t don’t think we’re a favorite,” said Dons head coach Steve Geremia, singling out Mater Dei and University as serious threats to end Santa Barbara’s reign.
Simon takes on Beverly Hills’ Daniel Ho and Grokenberger-Melton face San Luis Obispo’s Jared Belsher and Matthew Will in their next matches.
Dos Pueblos’ Sasha Gryzanov won his first round match over Peninsula’s Shuhei Shibahara 6-2, 6-1, but lost a close first set in his second match and couldn’t recover against Dana Hills’ Warren Hardie 7-5, 6-2.
DP’s doubles entry, Richard Cheng and John Kim, was swept from the draw by a team from Valencia/Placentia.
Cate’s doubles team of Max Sabel and Wyatt Geiger had a similar fate as its singles teammate, losing in straight sets to a Division-I opponent in Mira Costa’s Nathaniel Gong and Dylan Tevlin 6-3, 6-0.
Two more rounds will be played Friday before the tournament, which includes collegiate and non-scholastic competition, concludes on Saturday.
