It’s not his game plan, but Cate’s Blake Mackall is making a habit of coming from behind to win matches in the CIF Individual Tennis Tournament.
Mackall battled back from a 5-2 deficit in the first set against Arroyo Grande’s Eli Whittle and pulled out a 7-5, 7-6 victory in the Round of 32 at Whittier Narrows.
Also advancing is the Santa Barbara doubles team of Jack Damen and Mitchell Kuhn. They outlasted Brea Olinda’s Sherman Uyeno and Brandon Kim, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, to reach Friday’s Round of 16 at the Seal Beach Tennis Club.
Damen, a sophomore and Kuhn, a junior, will join teammates Logan Liddell and Morgan Hale in the Round of 16. They received a bye on Thursday.
Mackall kept his composure and stayed patient in working his way back from the huge deficit in the first set against Whittle. He did the same thing a week earlier in the sectional tournament against Kevin Bondar of Oaks Christian. In that match, he fought off five set points and won 10-8 in a first-set tiebreaker.
