Troy Ritter went unbeaten in singles to help Laguna Blanca beat Thacher for the first time in boys tennis since 2004, 11-7 in the Condor League match.
“With the exception of losing three tie-break sets during the match, I thought we were composed and performed up to our ability throughout the match,” Laguna coach Trevor Thorpe said. “If anything, those tie-break losses will motivate us to keep getting stronger, and I know this win will bring a lot of confidence to our team.”
Ritter’s performance gave the Owls a big lift.
“He probably had his best match of the season, playing through several injuries that have kept him out of practice in the lead-up to this match,” said Thorpe.
The coach said he also was impressed with the play of doubles players Alex Greer and Alex Shirokow-Louden.
The Owls improve to 7-4 on the season.
“We accomplished the first of our two goals for the season, which were to end the season with a winning record and to make the CIF playoffs,” said Thorpe. “We’re riding high right now and looking forward to a very close match against Dunn this Wednesday.
“We are still in the hunt for our second season goal of making the playoffs, but we would need to beat Dunn on Wednesday, and Thacher again next week. In that case, we could potential tie with Dunn, which would result in a coin-toss for the second playoff spot.”
Laguna Blanca singles
Benji Sorensen 6-7, 1-6, 6-1
Tristan Prinz 6-0, 3-6, 6-4
Troy Ritter 6-2, 7-5, 6-0
Laguna Blanca doubles
Ben Furukawa/Eddie Conk 6-7, 6-7, 6-0
Alex Greer/Alex Shirokow-Louden 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
Justin Shand/Ian Carradine 3-6, 2-6, 6-4
