The Owls faced a rain-soaked first half of the 2023 tennis season, but managed to go into spring break with wins over Orcutt Academy and Santa Ynez High School.

Laguna Blanca v. Orcutt Academy: 6-3 Win

In the season opener, Laguna played the CIF-Central Section format of 6 singles matches followed by 3 doubles matches. Sophomore Davis Ohanian led the team at #1 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win and junior Mason Berg also won in straight sets at the #4 position.

Laguna’s senior captains, Aden Meisel and Kent Dunn, took third-set tie-break wins at the #2 and #3 positions to add to the Owls’ singles tally. Orcutt fired back with wins at the bottom two positions in the lineup, putting the match at 4-2 going into doubles play.

Laguna got a win from Lucas Ayala and new addition to the team Noah Mitev at the #3 doubles position and the last match of the day was won by Ohanian and Meisel, who partnered at the top spot in the doubles lineup.

Laguna Blanca v. Santa Ynez: 6-3 Win

Laguna again utilized the CIFCS format in the match against Santa Ynez.

The Owls split the singles match-play, wins at the #3-#5 positions (Kent Dunn, Mason Berg, Robbie Dunn, respectively). Davis Ohanian nearly pulled up an upset win at the #1 position, playing the experienced Santa Ynez ace to an 11-13 score in the third-set tie-breaker.

With the match tied going into doubles play, Laguna held nothing back in fielding some formidable doubles combinations. Ohanian and Meisel paired for an 8-4 win at the top spot, with Mason Berg and Kent Dunn also partnering for an 8-2 victory. Junior Lucas Ayala shared the #3 position with freshman Noah Mitev to make a clean sweep of the doubles with an 8-3 win.

Laguna Blanca v. Villanova: 5-13 Loss

The match against Villanova High School from Ojai marked the beginning of Tri-Valley League season play. Unfortunately, it ended in a loss against the deeper Villanova squad, but there were some particularly bright moments for the Owls.

Davis Ohanian played lights-out tennis for a 6-2 win over Tristan Montecino, a senior and one of the stronger players in the league. He followed that up with another quick win, moving him to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in league play.

The pairing of Robbie Dunn and Mason Berg lost a heart-breaker 6-7 at the #1 doubles position after leading early, but rallied to go 2-1 on the day with 6-2, 6-0 set-wins. Aden Meisel added a win over Roman Moga, the Villanova #2 player.

What’s Next for the Owls?

The Owls return to action after a two-week break, facing visiting Carpinteria High School at 3:30pm today. The match will be followed up on Thursday at Laguna, when the Owls will take on Dunn School in the second Tri-Valley League match of the season.