The San Marcos High boys tennis team played Ventura to a 9-9 stalemate, but the Royals won the match by winning the tie-breaker 78-69.
Petar Jivkov went 3-0 to improve to 36-3 on the season, but faced a difficult match against the Cougars’ top singles player, Jacob Rucker. Rucker went up 3-0, but Jivkov battled back for a gritty victory.
“The court played fast today and Jacob started out like gangbusters,” head coach Jarrod Bradley said. “Petar adjusted by playing closer to the baseline and dictating shots earlier in the point. This was a big win for the team today because we knew it would be close in doubles.”
In the doubles competition, the team of Garrett Hazarian and Spencer Kennedy went 2-1 on the day, and narrowly lost 7-6 to Ventura’s top pair.
“Garrett and Spencer rallied from 1-4 down in two sets today and got them to tiebreakers,” Bradley said. “I’m proud that our seniors were able to step up today when we needed them the most. We could have just as easily felt sorry for ourselves or made excuses but they showed character today by battling for every point.”
This is the second consecutive meeting between the two teams that resulted in a tie-break victory for the Royals.
San Marcos (8-5 overall, 3-1 league) will play next tomorrow at home against Dos Pueblos, with both teams vying for second place in the Channel League.
RESULTS:
San Marcos 9 (78)
Petar Jivkov 3-0
Owen Lincoln 1-1
Ramin Parvin 0-1
Oliver Piltch 1-2
Jack Haley – Jake Wheelock 1-2
Garrett Hazarian – Spencer Kennedy 2-1
Lucas Budgett – Burkely McComb 1-2
Ventura 9 (69)
Jacob Rucker 2-1
Brogan Wheelan 2-1
Tai Ford 0-3
Brandon Bushnell – Nolan Rucker 3-0
Oscar Desario – Zach Scurrah 2-1
Will V – Sam M 3-0
