Boys’ Tennis: Sage Hill rolls past Mater Dei
- Share via
Ian Huang came into the season wanting to play singles for the Sage Hill School boys’ tennis team.
It makes sense. Huang is now a junior, and spent his first two years on the team playing doubles. There was just one problem with his plan.
“The other [singles] guys are too good,” Huang said.
Still, he got his chance Wednesday in a nonleague match against Mater Dei and he didn’t disappoint. Huang swept in singles as the Lightning earned a 17-1 win on their home courts.
First-year Sage Hill Coach Zoran Korac got to use plenty of substitutes, and they all came up with wins. The Lightning looked strong, four days after finishing second to West Ranch in their Lightning Invitational tournament. But they weren’t at full strength in that tournament, with senior No. 1 singles player Adam Langevin at a USTA tournament in Long Beach and standout doubles senior Han Chin out with a back injury.
Langevin and Chin had to play just one set each in Wednesday’s match. Langevin topped Mater Dei freshman Jake Huarte, 6-2, in the first round. Chin and partner Arya Nanda got past Mater Dei’s Connell McCabe and Charlie May, 6-3, at No. 1 doubles before they were subbed out.
“I was really excited to have my top four guys here,” Korac said. “The only guy that we were missing was Steven Ferry, but Adam was back. For him to come and play, as well as Rohun [Krishnan] to bounce back after his loss over the weekend, it really showed their willingness to play for us. Against Mater Dei, we had a little bit of trouble on paper [at the tournament], but that was with all of our subs. Obviously today, we showed how strong we can be, and I also did put in subs as well.”
Krishnan, a standout freshman for Sage Hill, won twice before being subbed out. Substitute Ryan Ha earned the 6-0 win in the third round.
At No. 3 singles, Huang won his first two sets by 6-0 scores before earning a 7-5 win against Huarte in the third round.
“It was fun,” said Huang, who earned all-tournament team honors while also playing singles at the Lightning Invitational. “The first two matches weren’t too challenging, but the third match [against Huarte] was pretty fun. It felt good. I kind of already knew our team won, so I was playing it loosely and casually. I hit some pretty good shots; I wasn’t too tight.”
In doubles, Manu Nanda and Jerry Fu subbed in for two wins at No. 1 doubles, while Florian Schaison won twice at the No. 2 spot, one each with Emin Torlic and Daruis Shayan-Smith.
The only doubles team to play all three rounds was the No. 3 team of William Stomber and Robert Gerschultz. The two sophomores swept, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. Gerschultz is the younger brother of former Sage girls’ standout Jaclyn Gerschultz.
Sage Hill, which finished second to Crean Lutheran in the Academy League last year, has high hopes this season for a league title and an extended run in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. Sage lost in the second round last year.
Korac expects to have his full squad available for this weekend’s Prep Classic, another four-team tournament hosted by Sage Hill on Friday and Saturday. The other teams competing are Oaks Christian, Windward Academy and JSerra.
“We’re really optimistic, especially with a couple of the freshmen that have come in, and me being there to help out with the doubles and solidify some of those doubles points,” Korac said. “That’s really where it’s going to come down to, our doubles. Our singles is fine.”
Korac said he has put in a lot of hours at the start of the season, getting to know his players and making sure they mesh as a team.
“I really do care,” he said. “I think about this program nonstop, because I’m the head coach. It’s my program; it’s my guys. One of the things that I’m doing extra is trying to help Adam with his schooling now, hearing that he did get accepted into Cal Poly [San Luis Obispo] but using my contacts to help him get that official visit and get that coach to potentially start talking to him ... [And I’m] helping out the bottom guys when some of the top guys aren’t there. I’m trying to be fair and consistent with everyone.”
Twitter: @mjszabo
