Santa Barbara tennis progressed through the second round of CIF playoffs in dramatic fashion after beating Marina High 10-8 on Friday.
The Dons began the day slow, finding themselves down 1-4 with one match to go in the first round. It was up to Chris Grant to trigger a comeback for Santa Barbara. The only obstacle: No. 35 Southern California-ranked Parker Glore.
Grant found himself down 3-4, but managed to grind out a huge 7-5 win to keep the Dons in the game.
Santa Barbara easily handled the second round, winning 5-1, and taking the overall lead 7-5.
“Even though we were still down 2-4 after the first round, our guys grabbed the emotional momentum from Chris’ victory and it carried us through the second round,” said coach Greg Tebbe.
The drama didn’t end there. Avery Chernin and Cooper Matthieson won a critical doubles match to put Santa Barbara up 9-8. The freshman duo Morgan Hale and Jack Damen were clutch, winning the final match 7-6 to clinch the victory for the Dons.
“The last round was a nail biter, with a lot of emotion from the players and crowd,” said Tebbe. “This was the most dramatic win of the season for Santa Barbara.”
Grant ended up sweeping his sets 3-0, and all three doubles went 2-1.
Santa Barbara advances to the quarterfinals on Tuesday, playing Woodridge at home.
Santa Barbara 10
Singles:
Chris Grant 3-0
Graham Maassen 1-2
Ryan Chung 0-3
Doubles:
Morgan Hale / Jack Damen 2-1
Logan Liddell / Mitchell Kuhn 2-1
Cooper Matthieson / Avery Chernin 2-1
Marina High 8
Singles:
P. Glore 2-1
K. Young 2-1
D. Cawalla 1-2
Doubles:
J. Fernandez / J. Kliger 2-1
N. Nguyen / F. Nguyen 0-3
R. Nielsen / T. Hormoliwk 1-2
Thanks for cheating :(