It wasn’t until after the contest that Drew Dawson came to the realization that Wednesday’s boys tennis semifinal was the last competitive match he’d ever play at University High.
“My dad came up to me after and asked if I wanted to take a picture with some of the guys,” the senior said. “I hadn’t really thought about it to be honest, but there’s no tears just yet.”
While it’s been a dominant four years for Dawson and his senior teammates, the Trojans proved again they’re far from ready to close the book on another historical campaign.
With a 14-4 win over Los Alamitos, top-seeded University advanced to its ninth consecutive CIF-SS Division 1 championship match. The Trojans will play Harvard-Westlake of Studio City at noon Friday at the Claremont Club.
“This is the best team chemistry we’ve ever had here,” Trojans coach John Kessler said. “People will remember the three All-Americans we lost last year, but we lost another three starters who were the meat-and-potato guys.
“This year, it’s been guys like Drew, Eric (Tseng) and Arseni (Yalouskikh) being leaders on and off the court, making this possible.”
The top-seeded Trojans defeated Harvard-Westlake earlier this season, 12-6. A second win over the Wolverines would give the Trojans their fifth consecutive Division 1 team title.
Leading 3-1, Dawson found himself in a dogfight with Riley Smith in the top singles match.
The Trojans senior captain edged out the Sunset League’s single champ in a t7-6 tiebreaker.
“Drew is the consummate competitor,” Kessler said. “He just takes his game to another level time and time again.”
In Division 3:
Cypress 10, San Luis Obispo 8: Behind a 3-0 showing from its top doubles tandem, Vince Choi and Darrus Lee, the Centurions earned their first trip to the finals.
“It was kind of funny watching four calculus students going over and over scores, adding up the games if the match ended 9-9,” Cypress coach Joseph Paul said. “Right now I’m just in shock. This is the furthest our school’s ever gotten in our 40-year history.”
Up 9-8, the Centurions’ No. 3 doubles team of Habin Gu and David Hwang earned a win over San Luis Obispo’s No. 1 pair, clinching a spot in the final.
Cypress will play Oaks Christian of Westlake Village at the Claremont Club on Friday at 11 a.m.
Oaks Christian 10, Valencia 8: The top-seeded Tigers (22-2) were unable to make the championship final an all-Empire League affair as they dropped a nail-biter to the Lions.
In Division 2:
San Marino 15, Crean Lutheran 3: The Saints (15-1) suffered their first loss of the season as they were defeated in the program’s first semifinals appearance.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com