Cate’s boys tennis team lost its way on the CIF trail on Tuesday, getting knocked out of the postseason in a 9-9 quarterfinal match that went to Sage Hill for holding an 80-79 total-games advantage.
The No. 2 Rams needed to fight back after falling behind 4-2 before the second round. Blake Mackall steadied Cate’s lineup by being the only singles player to go 3-0 in the match. Cate rebounded to win the second round 4-2 and the final round was even.
Robbe Simon and Sean Batten counterbalanced Mackall’s results by being the only doubles team to sweep its three sets, including a 7-5 win in its last set that forced the 9-9 draw.
“Home court made a difference,” said Cate’s head coach Bob Bonning, whose No. 2-seeded team had to play two-of-three playoff games on the road. “We knew they were going to be tough. We knew they were going to be tough at home.”
Sage Hill moves on to the Division IV semifinals while Cate finishes its season with a 13-6 record.
SAGE HILL 9, CATE 9, Sage Hill win on games 80-79
C Singles – Austin Lokre 2-1, Cam Seo 0-3, Blake Mackall 3-0. SH Singles Andrew Kurzweil 2-1, Dennis Cirit 1-2, Alex Manaolakas 1-2.
Ahmed Bou-Rabee/Jason Park 1-2, Gregory Mak/Chris Lin 1-2, Rohit Goswamy/Mark Mullan 2-1. SH Doubles – Alex Koeberle/Kevin Marshack 2-1, Robbe Simon/Sean Batten 3-0, Nasier Emtaiz/Garrett Rapport 0-3.
