The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Heritage knocks off Arlington in D4 quarterfinal
MENIFEE » The Heritage boys tennis program had not fared well in the Division 4 playoffs in previous seasons.
“We would win one match at the most and then get blown away the next one,” Patriots coach Doug Fairchild said.
The year’s squad has been determined to not repeat the past. Heritage swept all nine points in doubles Monday, and Andrew Ramos added two more in singles as the Patriots knocked off Arlington 11-7 in a quarterfinal match.
Heritage (18-4) will head to top-seeded Cerritos (148) for a Division 4 semifinal match Wednesday afternoon.
“I didn’t know if this would ever happen for us in Division 4, to be honest,” Fairchild said. “It just seemed like we were destined to lose in a higher division. But this group of kids have been motivated to rewrite the history books here. It’s taken a lot of belief in themselves to get to this point, and I’m so proud of them.”
Heritage’s first trip to the Division 4 semifinals was due in large part to the efforts of its doubles teams.
Remle Capati and Jonathan Leohhardi won 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 1 spot. Adrian Magana and Angel Casillas won 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles. And Ben Taylor and Alex Ahlswede won 6-0, 7-5, 6-4 as the No. 3 doubles team.
Arlington’s No. 1 doubles team, Adrian Mata and Noah Ferarita, had lost only three games entering this match, according to Lions coach David Gomez. But Heritage’s three doubles teams equaled that total Monday afternoon.
“I think a lot of it comes down to leadership... Four of our six doubles players are seniors,” Fairchild said. “They wanted to win this one so bad today, and they played accordingly and gave us a tremendous boost today.”
Magana and Casillas, the two junior doubles players, also swept in the previous round against Montclair.
“We just keep or heads up, and we’re always there to pick each other up if a mistake is made.” Casillas said.
Arlington’s singles players helped keep the score close until the end of the match. Mikey Chang was unstoppable and won all three sets 6-0. Isaiah Tapia and Mario Palagi won 2 of 3 to give the Lions a 7-2 edge in singles.
“Our team has been pretty evenly balanced this season, so I was not exactly expecting to get seven points in singles,” Gomez said. “Mikey has carried us in singles, and Isaiah and Mario really stepped things up today.
“It just wasn’t our day in doubles today. We lost a few tight sets out there and it made a difference. I don’t know about you, but it looked like Heritage wanted this more than us. They definitely earned this victory.”
Heritage had a 7-5 lead after the second rotation. Chang and Palagi won their final sets to get Arlington to seven points. Ramos cruised in his final singles set, while Taylor and Ahlswede erased an early deficit to win their final set to get Heritage on the hill. Magana and Casillas picked up the point that secured the victory.
Reaching the semifinals in Division 4 for the first time is the reward for hard work, Ramos said.
“That really shows how much improvement we have made since last season,” said Ramos, who finished the day with scores of 0-6, 6-3, 6-0. “It’s a huge accomplishment. I am so grateful to have his moment with my teammates.”