It wasn’t San Clemente’s “A” lineup, but by making due with what they did have, the Tritons survived a scare from upset-minded Villa Park in the CIF-SS boys tennis playoffs Friday afternoon.
With the score tied after two rounds of play, San Clemente used a doubles sweep and a critical come-from-behind victory by Caden Spencer to take five points in the third round for an 11-7 win over the Spartans in a Division 2 second-round match at Villa Park High.
The fourth-seeded Tritons (15-2) have reeled off 11 wins in a row, and they will host Valencia of Valencia on Monday afternoon in the quarterfinals.
“Our doubles played a little bit hesitant, but I think they finally relaxed in that third round,” Tritons coach John Stephens said. “They started moving better, putting pressure on Villa Park. Very happy with how they responded there late.”
San Clemente junior standout Michael Bott returned to the court after spending a week dealing with a fever.
With his stamina diminished, Bott played doubles with Michael Tilly. They swept their sets, as did Chris Torcaso and Tony Gregory.
On the singles side, Jay Yeam went 3-0, but San Clemente did not receive any additional singles help until the final round.
Spencer, trailing Villa Park’s Quentin Gonzalez, 4-1, stormed back to win the final five games, grabbing what proved be the clinching 10th point.
“We really didn’t think we had a great chance coming in,” Spartans coach Chris Tibbetts said. “The guys kind of knew it was a longshot, but they all fought as much as they could. Tiring end to a long season.”
In the Division 1 playoffs:
University 14, Santa Monica 4: Josh Piatos and Hans Hwang led a sweep in doubles that helped the Trojans advance to Monday’s quarterfinals. University will play at Los Alamitos, which the Trojans defeated, 12-6, in March.
Corona del Mar 14, Santa Barbara 4: Bjorn Hoffmann and Pedro Fernandez del Valle swept their singles sets for the Sea Kings, who move on to meet fourth-seeded Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach on Monday. In doubles, the teams of Matt Paulsen–Ryan Wessler and Diego Fernandez Fernandez del Valle–Jacob Cooper swept their matches.
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Scores from Friday’s matches and the updated schedule for the CIF-SS boys tennnis playoffs.
BOYS TENNIS
DIVISION 1
Second round, Friday
San Marino 14, Loyola 4
Beckman 13, Palos Verdes 5
Corona del Mar 14, Santa Barbara 4
Mira Costa 12, Beverly Hills 6
Peninsula 15, Woodbridge 3
Palm Desert 17, Viewpoint 1
Los Alamitos 10, Harvard-Westlake 8
University 14, Santa Monica 4
Quarterfinals, Monday, 3 p.m.
Beckman at San Marino
Corona del Mar at Mira Costa
Palm Desert at Peninsula
University at Los Alamitos
DIVISION 2
Second round, Friday
Santa Margarita 11, Oak Park 7
Crean Lutheran 13, Diamond Bar 5
Valencia/Valencia 9, Arroyo Grande 9 (Valencia wins on games, 98-89)
San Clemente 11, Villa Park 7
West Ranch 16, El Dorado 2
Claremont 16, Pasadena Poly 2
Walnut 10, Sage Hill 8
Arcadia 17, Mater Dei 1
Quarterfinals, Monday, 3 p.m.
Crean Lutheran at Santa Margarita
Valencia at San Clemente
Claremont at West Ranch
Walnut at Arcadia
DIVISION 3
Second round, Friday
Cypress 14, Millikan 4
Sunny Hills 13, Arlington 5
West Torrance 11, Canyon 7
Cerritos 14, Mission Viejo 4
Great Oak 13, Long Beach Poly 5
Yorba Linda 9, Tesoro 9 (Yorba Linda wins on games, 82-76)
King 9, Troy 9 (King wins on games, 83-79)
Valencia 15, South Torrance 3
Quarterfinals, Monday, 3 p.m.
Sunny Hills at Cypress
Cerritos at West Torrance
Great Oak at Yorba Linda
King at Valencia
DIVISION 4
Second round, Friday
Redlands 16, La Quinta 2
Buckley 14, Maranatha 4
Rancho Cucamonga 11, Schurr 7
Rowland 15, Yucaipa 3
Keppel 16, Quartz Hill 2
Webb 11, Etiwanda 7
Tarbut V’Torah 12, Garden Grove 6
Laguna Beach 15, Westminster 3
Quarterfinals, Monday, 3 p.m.
Buckley at Redlands
Rancho Cucamonga at Rowland
Webb at Keppel
Laguna Beach at Tarbut V’Torah
DIVISION 5
Second round, Friday
Heritage 17, Garey 1
Arroyo 12, Gahr 6
Alta Loma 11, Rancho Mirage 7
Hemet 10, Pasadena Marshall 8
Downey 14, Rubidoux 4
Oak Hills 16, San Gorgonio 2
Rosemead 10, Lynwood 8
Beaumont 16, Ramona 2
Quarterfinals, Monday, 3 p.m.
Heritage at Arroyo
Alta Loma at Hemet
Oak Hills at Downey
Beaumont at Rosemead
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Semifinals: Wednesday
Championships: May 20 at Claremont Club
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
