Laguna Blanca boys’ tennis opened the 2017 season this week with a 12-6 win over Dunn at home and a 6-12 loss to Santa Ynez away.

Laguna Blanca v. Dunn (12-6)

Singles players Victor Liu (junior) and Kai Nakamura (freshman) picked up two wins apiece, defeating Dunn’s #2 and #3 singles players in convincing fashion. Junior Conor Scheinberg added a set in singles and also played a solid 2-6 set against undefeating Dunn #1 singles player Julian Deck.

In doubles, Laguna was led by junior Jason Barnick and freshman John-Henry Schulz, who swept their sets 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 at the #1 doubles position. Doubles pairing Peter Smith/Wesley Schulz added two set wins and Kovid Mishra/Jack Stein and Zane Mazor-Brown/Tony Xu chipped one set each at the #2 doubles position.

Laguna Blanca @ Santa Ynez (6-12)

In what was a challenging early-season match, Laguna was unable to match the depth of a balanced Santa Ynez team.

Kai Nakamura’s performance at #3 singles proved to be a significant bright spot, with the Laguna freshman notching two wins in three sets of play with very effective strategy execution. Victor Liu played a very close first-round set against the Santa Ynez #1 player Braxton Johnson, eventually succumbing 4-6, but also showing off improvements made during the off-season. Liu also managed to snag a set in the second round of play, beating Santa Ynez’s Robert Meyer 7-5.

Alex Furukawa made his season debut, coming over from soccer, winning two of three sets with partner John-Henry Schulz. Kelvin Chen also played in his first match of the season, partnering with Jason Barnick to win a set in the final round of play.

Laguna will play three times in the coming week:

Monday – @ St. Bonaventure (at Ventura College)
Tuesday – v. Coast Union
Friday – v. Orcutt Academy