Sammer Aziz came through with the match on the line to lead Santa Barbara to a win over Peninsula in a battle of CIF tennis powerhouses on Wednesday at the Nopal Street courts.
In a battle between the No. 1 players, Aziz beat Peninsula’s Horen Porutiu 6-1 to give the Dons enough games to pull out a 78-70 win after the teams tied 9-9 in sets.
“Sammer played his best match of the season to beat Porutia in convincing fashion,” Santa Barbara coach Greg Tebbe said.
Tebbe had praise for freshman Ryan Chung’s performance.
“He was starting this first big match for Santa Barbara and he won a critical set at No. 3 singles, and he competed well overall.
Chris Grant and Logan Liddell played well in doubles, winning two of three sets against a strong Peninsula lineup.
“This was our best win of the season, thus far, as Peninsula (9-4) came into the match ranked No. 6 in CIF Division 1. We’re right behind them at No. 7,” said Tebbe.
The Dons (6-1) return to Channel League play on Thursday against Buena at home. They play three matches next week against Ventura, San Marcos and Dos Pueblos.
Santa Barbara 9, Peninsula 9 (SB wins on games 78-70). Singles— Sammer Aziz 3-0, Graham Maassen 1-2, Ryan Chung 1-2. P— H. Porutiu 2-1, J. Hoeger 2-1, J. Chen 0-3. Doubles—SB: Chris Grant / Logan Liddell 2-1, Morgan Hale / Mitchell Kuhn 1-2, Cooper Matthieson / Jeremy Kirchhoff 1-2. P: C. Patton / N. Tong 3-0, J. Chan / K. Nukai 2-1, A. Muttalib / K. Arece 0-3
