The Register’s All-County boys tennis team for 2014.
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FIRST TEAM
DREW DAWSON
University, Sr.
The Register’s player of the year.
STEFAN DOEHLER
Foothill, Sr.
Along with Drew Dawson, Doehler was the only Orange County player to earn All-American honors this past season. For the third consecutive year, the future Yale Bulldog went unbeaten in his regular-season dual matches and wound up winning a third straight Century League singles title. Doehler was also the only county player to advance to the semifinals at Ojai, and he guided Foothill to a quarterfinal appearance in the Division 2 playoffs.
KONRAD KOZLOWSKI
University, Jr.
A school like University is so dominant because of players like Kozlowski. He split time between singles and doubles duty throughout the season, but regardless of where he was in the lineup, he won. The Trojans junior did not drop a match until the Pacific Coast League tournament, in which he finished third. And in the biggest of stages, Kozlowski produced. He went unbeaten in both the Division I final against Harvard-Westlake of Studio City and in the Southern California Regional final against San Marino.
BJORN HOFFMANN
Corona del Mar, Soph.
Hoffmann finished his sophomore campaign with a second-place finish in the Pacific Coast League singles tournament, narrowly losing to Drew Dawson in the final, 8-7 (8-6 tiebreaker). He finished the season with an impressive 50-9 singles clip, and led the Sea Kings to a quarterfinal appearance in the Division 1 playoffs. Like fellow sophomore Riley Smith (Los Alamitos), Hoffmann consistently showed he has all the tools to become one of the most dominating players in the county.
CHASE MASCIORINI
Dana Hills, Sr.
The Dolphins senior capped his stellar high school career with a second South Coast League singles title and a semifinal run in the CIF Individual Championships. Masciorini went 41-3 over the regular season and was one of the final 16 players left in contention at the Ojai Tournament in April. After winning his league’s singles crown, the UC Santa Barbara commit was one of two local players to advance to the semis at CIF. After an eye-opening 6-0, 6-1 win over highly touted Danny Gealer (San Marino) in the quarters, Masciorini nearly knocked off second-seeded Austin Rapp (Palm Desert), 7-6, 7-6.
RILEY SMITH
Los Alamitos, Soph.
The bigger the stage, the better Smith seemingly played. With one of the biggest serves in the county, the Griffins sophomore advanced to the quarterfinals in both the Ojai Tournament and the CIF Individual Championships. In between, he became the Sunset League’s newest singles champ, besting fellow five-star recruit Reese Stalder in the final. If he continues to develop, Smith has all the tools to be a dominating force over his final two seasons at Los Al.
REESE STALDER
Newport Harbor, Jr.
The Sailors star will head into next season as one of the top-ranked recruits in the class of 2015. His junior season ended with a 49-4 overall record and a second-place finish in the Sunset League singles tournament. One of Stalder’s more impressive performances of 2014 actually came in a loss at the CIF Individual Championships. After capturing the first set against top-seeded Michael Genender (Harvard-Westlake) in the quarters, Stalder began suffering from cramps. He showed a ton of heart battling through the pain, and nearly upset the eventual champ on one leg (4-6, 7-6, 6-3).
ARASH HAFEZI, Jr., and ERIC TSENG, Sr.
University
Whether it was singles or doubles play, Hafezi and Tseng consistently demonstrated throughout the season they were two of the top overall players the county had to offer. As singles players, the two helped University win a fifth consecutive Division 1 team championship and a second straight Southern California Regional title. The duo capped their season off as a team, winning a second consecutive doubles crown at the CIF Individual Championships.
VATSAL BAJPAI, Soph., and KYLE McCANN, Jr.
Los Alamitos
The Griffins tandem was quite possibly the most entertaining doubles pair to watch throughout the county in large part because of their varying personalities. With McCann’s fiery nature balanced out by Bajpai’s coolness on the court, the duo proved capable of beating any team they faced. A round of 16 appearance at Ojai was followed by a Sunset League doubles championship and a quarterfinal run at CIF. With both players returning next spring, the Los Al duo could be tops in the county.
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The Register’s All-County teams were selected using a combination of reporter observations and coaches’ input.
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2014 All-County: Coach of the Year, Cypress’ Paul
2014 All-County: Second team
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com