Dons roll to tennis win

“Four of my six top players are seniors and they’re pretty good players,” Owdom said. “This could be my strongest team, overall.”

That certainly played out at Hillsdale as the Dons cruised to a 6-1 victory to improve to 4-0 in division play.

Unfortunately for Hillsdale, 2019 is a rebuilding year. Gone are the Knights’ top-three singles players from a year ago and, while they have plenty of experience returning, they are playing in different spots than they were a year ago. Marcus Cheng, for instance, is the Knights’ No. 1 singles player this season. Last season, he played at No. 4 singles. Joshua Rhee at No. 2 singles? He was part of Hillsdale’s No. 2 doubles team in 2018.

“We’re rebuilding again,” said Hillsdale head coach Jackie Nachtigall. “(But) I’m happy with these kids.”

Aragon set the tone at No. 1 doubles, where Richard Tang and Rithik Booreddy rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in less than an hour.

They were soon followed off the court by Aragon’s No. 4 singles player, Randy Liu, who lost only one more game than his doubles teammates, posting a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

At No. 3 singles, Hillsdale’s Haoyang Zeng got a quick break in the first set to take a 2-0 lead. But Aragon’s Ilan Leventhal quickly got back into the match, winning three games in a row to take a 3-2 lead as he went on to win the first set 6-4. The two stayed on serve through the first seven games of the second set but, with Leventhal up 4-3, he got a service break and then held to win the match, 6-4, 6-3.

Daniel Duan wrapped up the team match by earning the Dons’ fourth point by winning his No. 2 singles match. Duan certainly had to work for his 6-1, 6-4 win over the big-hitting Rhee.

Rhee had the hardest shot on any of the courts Tuesday at Hillsdale, but Duan beat him by being more consistent. For as often as Rhee fired off a big forehand, he was just as likely to slam a shot into the net.

“I’m very impressed (with Rhee),” Nachtigall said. “Last year, [Duan] would have beaten him 6-0, 6-0.”

Shortly after Duan’s win, Aragon’s other Daniel — No. 1 singles player Daniel Li — walked off with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Cheng.

Down a set and trailing 5-2, Cheng put together a little rally, holding and breaking serve to close to 5-4, but Li served out the match for the win.

Nikky Dobbs and Tyler Kuhn got a break in each set to win their No. 3 doubles match, 6-4, 6-4.

Not surprisingly, it was the Knights’ No. 2 doubles team that gave them their only win. Tomoya Hirano and Casey Mulkerrins were the cardiac kids in 2018 at No. 3 doubles for Hillsdale, who had a knack for pulling out three-set wins.

Tuesday was no different. After cruising to a first-set win 6-2, the Aragon tandem of Sean Hsu and Ryan Firestone turned the tables in the second set, winning 6-2 and forcing a deciding third set.

As they did last season, Hirano and Mulkerrins won the first three games of the final set and cruised to a 6-1 win.

“[Hirano and Mulkerrins] have played together for a while,” Owdom said. “And they pull out third-set wins.”

Despite the strong start for Aragon, things will get infinitely tougher over the next couple of weeks, which will really show where the Dons stand in the PAL rankings as they face three of the top teams in the PAL. After facing San Mateo Thursday, which came into the week 3-0 as well, the Dons will have to play heavy league favorite Menlo-Atherton twice next week — one match being a rain makeup.

The following week, the Dons take on a Carlmont squad they beat earlier this season.

“I have six strong players,” Owdom said. “But we have to get stronger at 2 and 3 doubles.”

Despite the loss, Nachtigall likes how her team is playing.

“Even though they lost, they’ve improved so much (from last year),” Nachtigall said. “[The players I have] love to play tennis.”