Boys tennis: Branson stays unbeaten, wins section title
It was truly a race to see who would finish first in the North Coast Section Division II boys tennis final that pitted unbeaten Branson School against private-school rival University of San Francisco on Saturday.
Branson’s Chase Hoeveler won his No. 3 singles match in a mere 35 minutes followed by Ishwar Jayaraman, who polished off his opponent in No 4 singles six minutes later.
That early momentum sent the Bulls sprinting to a 4-3 victory so dominant that they sealed the deal with two matches still on the court. Winning is all the Bulls know this season, racking up 23 straight victories to earn their first NCS title since 2013.
“This is awesome,” said Branson coach Chrissie Costamagna, who also led the Branson girls to the 2021 NCS Division II title. “It’s an awesome experience for me and awesome for the boys. I hope the boys have so much fun that they want to keep playing tennis for the rest of their lives.”
To reach the NCS finals, the MCAL champs had to play their semifinal match at 9 a.m. on Saturday at College of Marin, where they defeated Piedmont 5-2. The action then shifted to San Domenico in San Anselmo for the 1:30 p.m. final.
It’s safe to say that Hoeveler and Jayaraman had plenty left in the tank for the finals after very efficient wins against Piedmont. The sophomores then only lost one game combined in their afternoon matches to give the Bulls major momentum.
“We’ve had a fast start in postseason and MCAL,” said Costamagna. “They are so efficient in how they play. Our sophomores have another year of experience. They were solid last year but they didn’t have the experience. It’s amazing over a year how much more confident, how their games have grown, how much more mature they play on the court.”
The Bulls No. 3 doubles team of Oliver Goldman and Andrew Peng were off the court next, dispatching Henry Burton and Jonas Roseman 6-0, 6-2. The No. 1 doubles team of Tommie Higgins and Leighton Fraser were close behind with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Gus Grumet and Caden Codlk that clinched the NCS title for the Bulls.
Besides her much-improved sophomores, Costamagna said senior leadership set the team on its way to success. The Bulls’ MCAL championship was their first since 2001.
“The seniors were instrumental in helping us create a cohesive team,” said Costamagna. “The three seniors really stepped up as captains.”
The seniors are No. 1 singles player Jeffrey Huang, No. 2 singles player Max Goldman, and Pete Stovell, who played No. 2 doubles Saturday with his brother, James.
“It’s been an incredible all-around season,” said Huang. “Last year was really difficult because we got to the semifinals in MCAL and NCS. The fact that we’ve had an undefeated season has just been amazing.”