Varsity boys tennis defeated the Ayala High School Bulldogs 15-3 at home Monday, April 7, securing the win with careful strategizing and techniques.
The Mustangs started off strong, taking the lead in the first round. Doubles one senior Scott Chen and sophomore Timmothy Chen won their first game 6-1, followed by a 6-0 win for doubles two seniors Tyrik Chen and Calvin Bautista and a 6-2 win for doubles three seniors Daniel Lee and Tyler Wu. For players like Wu, it was their first time switching from playing singles to doubles during the season.
“I felt pretty confident going into the game. [Switching] wasn’t too bad of an adjustment. The hardest thing mainly was just returning serves and hitting away from the wind,” Wu said.
Singles one player senior Marcus Phan, singles two player sophomores Brad Wong and singles three player Tony Yuan also won their first games with scores 6-1, 6-2 and 6-4, respectively against their Ayala opponents.
Walnut continued their overall winning streak in the second round, sweeping the floor with three singles and two doubles game victories. Although doubles three partners Lee and Wu faced a close loss of 6-7 (4-7) to the Bulldogs, the team’s collectively strong volleys and first serves put them ahead of Ayala.
“The second round is usually a very important round because it puts the nail in the coffin for the game,” head coach Joe Fasheh said. “We had a great second round that put a stamp to the game and was almost like a statement round for us. I saw a lot of…great shots that put away the opponents.”
Following steady first and second rounds however, the Mustangs encountered a few stumbles during their third and final round. Singles players sophomore Brandon Lee and senior Duncan Shen subbed in for Wong and Yuan and fell to Ayala with scores of 3-6 and 1-6, respectively. Despite these losses, the team clutched up, with singles players like Phan securing a win of 6-0 against his Bulldog rival.
“I don’t think I played that well because I was a bit tired with it being the third round,” Phan said. “I just tried being consistent because [my opponent] was making a lot of errors, so I played off of them.”
Juniors Apollo Lee and Andrew Ho also substituted doubles two pair Tyrik Chen and Bautista and defeated the Bulldogs 6-4. The Mustangs brought the victory home, thanks to consistent practices and studying the rival team’s skill.
“I think if our team just continues to have more practices, we can keep improving overall,” Phan said. “We felt pretty good playing against Ayala. They were a lot easier than expected.”
