Boys tennis: Branson claims long-awaited MCAL title
The last time The Branson School boys tennis team won the MCAL championship not a single player on this year’s squad was born yet.
The Bulls finished on top for the first time since 2001 thanks to a 5-2 victory over perennial contender Redwood in the MCAL playoff final on Thursday at Tam High.
The win marked Branson’s third consecutive against the Giants this season, adding the playoff championship to its unbeaten regular-season crown.
“It’s awesome,” said Branson coach Chrissie Costamagna. “I’m so proud of these guys. They worked so hard.”
Costamagna also coaches the Branson girls team, leading the Bulls to MCAL and NCS titles.
The Branson boys (21-0) conquered the Giants with stellar play from their sophomores. Tommie Higgins, Chase Hoeveler and Ishwar Jayaraman won in straight sets in the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 singles positions to spur the victory. They only lost 10 games combined.
“Our 2, 3 and 4 singles players are really strong and we knew it would come down to doubles,” said Costamagna. “It was a nail-biter the whole match.”
In the match that sealed the win, the Bulls’ No. 3 doubles team of sophomore James Stovell and junior Andrew Peng pulled out a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Liam Martinez and Eric Sretavan.
Stovell drilled a serve out wide on the deuce side that was unreturnable for match point to set off a Branson celebration on court.
“That’s James,” said Costamagna. “All of our kids are great but we have a sophomore class that I’ve seen just a huge improvement from since last year.”
Minutes earlier, Redwood’s No. 2 doubles team of Matt Benbow and Mateo Cubillos overcame a 4-1 third-set deficit to keep the Giants alive with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 win over Oliver Goldman and Leighton Fraser.
The Giants’ other win came in No. 1 singles where Jackson Sichel defeated Jeffrey Huang 6-0, 6-1. Sichel will be a player to watch next week when the individual singles and doubles tournaments take place at College of Marin.
With the team title already secured, Branson’s Max Goldman and Pete Stovell won a third-set tiebreaker in No. 1 doubles for the final margin.
Both Redwood (16-6) and Branson will play in the NCS Division 1 and 2 team tournaments, respectively, and are expected to host first-round matches.
“It’s literally everything you’d want in high school tennis,” said Redwood coach Craig Flax. “It was super good tennis up and down the ladder. I feel we did the best that we could.”