Highland drops Knight into second place
Bulldogs top Hawks on tiebreaker
PALMDALE — The Highland boys tennis team lost to Knight by four points in the first round of Golden League on March 28.
In the final match of the regular season on Tuesday, the Bulldogs beat Knight by three games, after the two teams tied 9-9, Highland won on the tiebreaker 80-77 at Palmdale High School.
The win denied Knight (11-3, 11-2) its first Golden League title. The Hawks were trying to share the league crown with Quartz Hill, but instead fall to second place, one game ahead of Highland (10-3, 9-3).
“I feel we did great,” said Highland senior Jovie Francisco, the Bulldogs’ No. 1 singles player. “It was a whole lot better than we did last time. We improved a lot. I think it was them actually going to practice. Another factor is we play a lot of tournaments before we played in this one. Everybody is just having fun. It’s a lot more fun when there’s a lot more people actually going.”
Francisco won his three sets 6-3, 6-0, 6-0, as the Bulldogs won four singles sets. Highland’s No. 2 singles player Christian Bautista won the other singles set for the Bulldogs, finishing 1-6, 4-6, 6-0.
Highland won five of nine doubles sets.
Highland’s No. 1 doubles team of seniors Dominic Miguel and Andrew Reyes swept their three sets 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.
“We felt pretty good,” said Reyes, a second-year varsity player. “We didn’t let mistakes distract us from winning.
“I feel that the last set we remained calm, which led us to our victory.”
The 7-5 win for Miguel
and Reyes came in one of the final three sets of the match, against Knight’s No. 2 team of Edwin Quintanilla and Edwin Rodriguez.
“I think we played really good,” said Miguel, a second-year varsity player. “We had a lot of fun. I think that’s all that matters.”
“I think the main key of that game specifically was having really good communication and keeping our spirits up. Facing the ball better, because I noticed we threw them off guard because when I made the last shot, it kind of made him trip. So I think that really threw them off.”
Miguel was happy to end the regular season on a positive note.
“It was really nice,” Miguel said of the season-ending victory. “I had a lot of fun playing for my high school career. I’m just excited to see what’s next in my life.”
Reyes also had a positive view of his senior season.
“I’m happy with my results this year in playing No. 1 doubles with Dominic,” Reyes said.
Quintanilla and Rodriguez won their other two sets, finishing 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.
“I felt we played good, but we could have played better on the last game,” Quintanilla said. “I enjoyed it.
“We didn’t have our regular No. 1 doubles.”
Quintanilla and Rodriguez finished third at the Golden League Finals on Saturday, their best finish at the league finals.
“I felt good, because we fought hard,” Quintanilla said of the Golden League finals. “I was proud, really proud.”
Knight’s No. 2 singles player, Alexis Villa, rallied from a 6-5 deficit against Highland’s Manny Gonzalez in the final set of the match, with players from both teams sitting on the next court cheering on their teammates.
Villa won the set 7-6 (74) to tie the match. Villa won two sets, 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
For Gonzalez it was one of two tiebreaker losses, losing to Antony Sedano 7-6 (7-5). It was the lone win for Sedano.
“This is the best we’ve ever done, nothing to hang your head about,” Knight coach James Jutila said. “We’ve never been second place in league before. We were kind of tied for first out of luck, so we kind of got where we deserved to finish, so it’s not a bad thing. We’ll still get seeded for CIF. We’re just looking to get our first playoff win, that’s my goal this year. All this is gravy.
“Yeah, it’s disappointing we didn’t get a share of the league title, but I’m happy for Quartz Hill, because they really are a strong team. Highland played tough. They played a great match.”
Knight’s No. 1 team of Daniel Carrillo and Emilano Alonso won two sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. The duo finished fourth in the league finals on Saturday, losing to teammates Quintanilla and Rodriguez.
“They fought hard,” Jutila said. “It’s as good a team as I’ve ever had.”
Knight will lose all but three players to graduation.
“It will be challenging next year to completely rebuild,” Jutila said.
Highland’s No. 2 doubles team of Ricardo Pineda and Andrea Padilla won one set, 4-6, 6-4, 1-6.
Highland’s No. 3 team of Sam Han and Cristian Gonzalez won one set 1-6, 6-4, 1-6.
“I feel so bad,” Highland coach Linda Ruiz said. “It was awesome. You know what I loved, is how much improvement I saw in our guys. They played amazing tennis. The doubles was phenomenal, even my singles. The doubles was just outstanding at the net. They got the ball back in play. It was a different team that played them the first time. They played so much better today. It’s so nice to see.”
The CIF-Southern Section team playoff brackets will be released on Monday.