By Josie Collier
Staff Writer
Costa tennis took home a important win against Peninsula High School in a close match at home.
The Mustangs defeated Peninsula 84-79 on March 20 at home. The top performers included senior Evan Fortier, who won all of his matches, and doubles partners senior Shant Samuelian and sophomore Tim Dzhurinskiy.
“An obvious strength for us was our depth,” coach Joe Ciasulli said. “We needed to win at every level and we did so that was pretty cool.”
Samuelian and Dzhurinskiy lost their first match 5-7 and later defeated their other two opponents 6-2 and 6-4. The duo’s enthusiasm and comradery led to their success, Ciasulli said.
“In Tim and Shant’s last game, they were playing so enthusiastically and had a lot of excitement,” Ciasulli said. “That is what I really like about coaching the boys,”
Junior Matthew Poh defeated two of his singles opponents 6-4 and 6-1, but then lost his last match 0-6. His powerful backhand and strategic forehand shots let him take control of the match which led him to two victories.
“I prefer to play singles,” Poh said. “Whether I win or lose it, it’s only based on myself and I am not depending on anyone else.”
Fortier defeated his singles opponents 6-3, 7-5 and 6-0. He entered a tie-breaker during his second match where he ultimately made a triumphant victory.
“I like singles because I get to individually test myself and see the results of my game versus my opponent,” Fortier said.
Freshman Julien Lilla and junior Ethan Han defeated a Peninsula doubles pairs 6-2, but lost their last two matches 3-6 and 6-7. Despite their fall to Peninsula, Costa received the edge in game count and took home the win, 84-79.
“I love the fact that the boys get really involved with each other and cheer each other on,” Ciasulli said. “I enjoy the enthusiasm that the boy’s side has.”
The Mustangs are currently 8-0 overall and 2-0 in Bay League. The team will play its next match against Arcadia High School on Wednesday, March 21 at home.
“We need to get our doubles teams a lot stronger,” Ciasulli said. “We played well today but this is really the first challenging match we have had this year.”
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