By Beatriz Durant and Jocelyn Xie
The exciting All-City Championship concluded the Lowell varsity boys’ tennis season, as the team defeated the Balboa Buccaneers 6–1 on May 10 at the Golden Gate Park Tennis Complex. This year marks the 10th year the Cardinals claimed the Academic Athletic Association championship title.
In the singles division, seniors Jacob Goldstein and Trevor Leong drove home with a leading win of 6–0, 6–1, and 6–1, 6–2, respectively. Sophomore Kyle Awad took down a Buccaneer 6–1, 6–0. Freshman Evan Fox, however, failed to beat the Buccaneers’ singles champion, losing 2–6, 2–6. Despite facing such a strong opponent, Fox demonstrated optimism. “I know that he’s the best player in the city,” Fox said. “So I just really have to fight for every ball and get any point I could.”
The doubles division players scored a sweeping victory. Seniors Oak Gast and Ilyas Medjou-Boggiano defeated the Buccaneers 6–3, 6–2. Seniors Daniel Stepanian and Kyle Chan obtained a win of 6–1, 6–1. Additionally, senior Alvin Tom and junior Andrew Trinh overpowered the Buccaneers 6–0, 6–0.
In preparation for the championship match, Chan specifically worked on improving his serve which played a key role in securing his victory. “I was really capitalizing on my serve and really practicing that for this match in particular,” Chan said. “I was getting some really nice aces on the opponents, so that was helping us.”
Chan’s partner, Stepanian, expressed a similar opinion on their performance. “Serve definitely was a plus for us,” Stephanian said. “Ground shows were a bit iffy but we brought it back so everything was pretty much good.”
All-City Individuals
On April 30, the Cardinals participated in the All-City individuals’ singles and doubles tournament. While the Cards were unable to earn the All-City singles’ champion title, Gast and Leong secured the doubles’ champion title.
Senior Michael Gee, one of the seeded players in the doubles division, rejoined the team after a four-month-recovery from a stress injury. It was a transforming experiencing for Gee to return to playing for the team. “When I went back onto the [tennis court], I felt a lot more grateful to get to play,” Gee said. “And I didn’t take tennis for granted; I just tried to enjoy every second of the match.”
2018 CIF NorCals
The Cardinals’ opponent, the Oakland Tech Bulldogs, forfeited the Northern California Boys Regional Tennis Championships Qualifier on Tuesday, May 15, therefore the Cardinals advanced into Round 1 of the NorCal Championships on May 18, where the Cards faced the Dougherty Valley Wildcats. Unfortunately, the Cards failed to conquer the Wildcats and their loss of 6–1 prevented them from continuing onto the NorCal semifinals.
