Boys tennis falls to University in CIF quarterfinals

By Tess Whittet

Staff Writer

Mira Costa’s boys varsity tennis team has no love for University after losing to them on May 15.

Costa lost to University High School on Monday in the California Interscholastic Federation quarterfinals. Junior Evan Fortier, sophomore Matthew Poh, and doubles pair senior Tommy Kendall and sophomore Kyle Sillman led the team with multiple individual victories.

“Overall, we fought hard, and unfortunately, it just didn’t go our way in the end,” Fortier said.

After all three rounds, the teams were tied at 9-9. As a tiebreaker, the referees counted all the points in each of the games to see who had acquired the most, and ultimately found that Costa had accumulated 70 points and University had won 79, causing Costa to lose the game and be eliminated from CIF.

“The team fought hard and well, and we never gave up,” sophomore Ethan Han said.

In singles, Fortier lost his first set, 6-4, but came back in his second, ending it 6-3. Fortier defeated junior Julian LaFond in his last match, winning 6-1.

“I think I did a good job fighting hard and staying focused on every point and believing in my game even when I was down,” Fortier said.

Poh carried the team in singles also, contributing three wins. Poh beat University’s top-ranked player, junior Naevin Anukornchaikul, 6-3, and defeated junior Patryk Kozlowski, 6-4. He then beat LaFond, 6-3, in the end.

“Personally, I was really focused today, which helped me play better and win all three matches,” Poh said.

In doubles, Kendall and Sillman led with two wins from their matches. The pair lost its first match, 6-4, but won the next one, 6-4, and the third, 7-6.

“We just gave a great fight every time we were out there, and I just love playing with Kyle,” Kendall said.

The CIF loss ended the Mustangs’ season, 17-3 overall. Costa will not be participating in CIF individuals, but the team may be invited to State if higher ranked schools decline an invitation.

“I thought we did better than anyone expected, even during the last match,” sophomore Alex Fry said. “So, overall, I would say it was a success.”