Eagles calculate win

Bryce Alderton

After a boys tennis match that lasted nearly three hours, it took a

calculator and memory recall from opposing singles players to

conclude the crosstown showdown with second place in the Golden West

League at stake between host Estancia High and Costa Mesa Thursday.

The teams finished regulation tied at 9 at 6:03 p.m., forcing

coaches Sean Lance and Rachel de los Santos from Costa Mesa and

Estancia, respectively, to add games won to determine a victor.

Even then, nothing came easy. Mesa’s side issued a 75-75 count

while Estancia showed 75-74 in its favor. The clock showed 6:18 p.m.

and still no announced winner.

Uncertainty swarmed, much like anxious players huddled around

their respective coaches to glimpse the final tabulation.

In the end, Estancia prevailed, and ended the regular season with

its seventh straight league win and eighth overall.

De los Santos shook her head in relief after shaking hands with

Lance following the Eagles’ second match this season determined on

games.

“We lost to Ocean View, 76-70, but never had one as intense as

that,” de los Santos said referring to Thursday’s match.

The singles match in question centered around Estancia freshman

Bradley Fisher and Costa Mesa’s Huy Le.

Fisher thought he won, 6-3, while Le believed the final count was,

6-4.

Both players talked among themselves, but couldn’t come to an

agreement. They walked back to the court, trying to rehash their set

and determine who served last.

“Are you sure you served last?” Le asked Fisher.

Fisher said, “He only broke me once and he didn’t break me again.”

Costa Mesa eventually conceded.

Even if Le had claimed one extra game against Fisher to make it,

75-75, Estancia (11-6, 10-2 in league) still would have won the match

via Andy Nelson’s 7-6 (7-4) tiebreak victory over Mesa senior Daniel

Gomez.

Nelson was also called into question during the calculating

moments. He needed to confirm his 6-3 victory over Ted Lee, usually a

doubles player who filled in for injured Jonathan Courtney (pulled

calf muscle), for Mesa (10-7, 9-3), which brought a boisterous

cheering section.

“Win or lose, we are excited,” said Lance of Mesa’s best

regular-season finish in recent memory.

The Eagles and Mustangs will send players into league finals

Monday and Tuesday at Ocean View. Likely start times are noon for

both days, said de los Santos, who, like Lance, rushed off the courts

to attend a league meeting where seedings for the league finals were

issued.

Mustang fans were apparently a little too loud with their cheers,

and at inappropriate moments, for de los Santos, who asked Lance to

quiet the crowd a bit. He obliged.

“It’s appropriate to cheer when a player makes a good shot and

earns a point, not when an opposing player makes an unforced error,”

de los Santos said.

Lance agreed, and continued, “I just want them to have a good time

and cheer.”

Mustang players fed off their fans’ energy, slapping high-fives

and shouting praise to teammates repeatedly on the courts.

Both teams had performances worthy of applause.

The Eagles claimed eight of nine singles sets, with junior Scott

Braunsdorf and Fisher each sweeping three sets while Nelson, also a

junior, tallied two wins.

Braunsdorf won, 6-1, 6-1, 6-0, and had mixed feelings about the

cheering.

“I don’t like it, but it’s not a big deal, it’s actually fun,

too,” Braunsdorf said.

Mesa had a hold on doubles, with eight victories, including sweeps

from the duos of Brian Nguyen and John Dang and Thomas Kosnosky and

Huy Dang.

John Dang and Nguyen finished 35-1 in league doubles matches and

capped their afternoon with a 6-2 victory over Shane Thompson and

Michael Fennessey. Dang and Nguyen fought through six deuces before

tallying the clinching point.

Estancia, which lost to Mesa, 11-7, including all nine doubles

sets in the teams’ earlier meeting this season, received a boost from

Chase Raymond and David Do’s 6-4 victory over Garrett Sneen and Ken

Shida.

Leading, 5-4, Raymond served out the match. The Eagle duo led,

40-0, then, 40-30, before Raymond ripped a forehand that a Mesa

player returned into the net for the clinching point.

Sneen and Shida earned 7-5 and 6-2 victories.

De los Santos said her players were nervous at the start of the

match, calling them, “mellow.”

“They are bright kids who think a lot,” she said.

Golden West League

Estancia 9,

Costa Mesa 9

(Estancia wins on games, 75-74)

Singles -- Braunsdorf (E) def. T. Lee, 6-1, def. H. Le, 6-1, def.

D. Gomez, 6-0; Fisher (E) won, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1; Nelson (E) won, 6-3,

lost, 1-6, won, 7-6 (7-4).

Doubles -- Raymond-Do (E) lost to B. Nguyen-J. Dang, 2-6, lost to

H. Dang-Kosnosky, 1-6, def. Sneen-Shida, 6-4; Alvergue-Gonzalez (E)

lost, 1-6, 2-6, 2-6; Thompson-Fennessey (E) lost, 2-6, 4-6, 5-7.