CLAREMONT – The appreciation for what University’s boys tennis program has accomplished over the last four seasons might not be what it should, mainly, because the Trojans have made winning four consecutive CIF-SS championship look a little too easy.
Make no mistake about it, there was nothing simple about its quest for No. 5.
The Trojans found themselves in a heavyweight prizefight on Friday afternoon with third-seeded Harvard-Westlake of Studio City.
Like a good champion, the Trojans proved they were game for the challenge.
For a fifth consecutive season, University earned the CIF-SS Division 1 championship, edging out Harvard-Westlake, 10-8, in an electrifying final at the Claremont Club.
“It was a different formula this year,” Trojans coach John Kessler said. “The last four, I don’t want to say they were anticlimactic, but we knew by the second round that we were going to have it. This one, with the way Harvard played and with a new cast of characters, I think it might be the most rewarding or most fulfilling one.”
In addition to capturing its fifth straight Division 1 crown, the Trojans have won seven of the last nine CIF championships. For seniors like Drew Dawson, Eric Tseng and Arseni Yalouskikh, Friday’s win signified a perfect 4-0 record in finals appearances.
“This one seems the most special,” Dawson said. “We didn’t have the assurance going in that we were definitely going to win. We have three good singles players, but not three great singles players like we did last year. So to be holding that trophy just feels amazing.”
Trailing 3-2 with one match still in play, the Trojans (22-0) were in danger of going down by two points headed into the second round. Uni’s top doubles team of Yalouskikh and Tommy Wang managed to fight back and earned a crucial 7-6 (11) tiebreaker to even the score 3-3 going into the second round.
“That was the match,” Kessler said. “I think emotionally the match changes. If we lost that, we’re down 2-4. I think getting that point gave us a little bit of a bump going into the second round.”
Like the first round, University captured two points in singles and another in doubles. The score remained tied (6-6) headed into the third round of play, with University holding an advantage in overall games.
Tseng (6-1) and Arash Hafezi (6-1) claimed their third round sets, as did the doubles team of Garrett Kurtz and Konrad Kozlowski. With nine points, University had the edge in games had the match ended in a tie, but another win from Yalouskikh and Wang clinched the Trojans’ fifth consecutive championship.
“I think this year was so much sweeter because we won 10-8 and it was neck-and-neck all the way through,” said Tseng. “I wasn’t completely sure coming off the court after my third round, but we got it done.”
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
