Dons tennis posts a statement win

“It would have been nice to play a couple of matches in league (before facing Burlingame),” said Aragon head coach Dave Owdom. “I know we have talent and they do, too.”

Looks like the Dons are ready to give two-time defending Bay Division champ Carlmont a run for its money this season as Aragon opened the league season with a dominating 7-0 sweep of the Panthers.

“Most of the singles scores were impressive,” Owdom said.

The Panthers were at a slight disadvantage, however, missing No. 1 singles player Shea Mulready. As such, that forced Burlingame head coach Doug Stone to juggle his lineup not only for the first match of the season but against a team that will contend for the Bay title.

“Very rarely (does a team) sweep singles. If we had our No. 1, maybe they don’t sweep the singles,” Stone said. “It forces everyone to jump up (a spot), but it also creates opportunity.”

Not only were the Panthers without their No. 1 singles player, Stone was breaking in a number of new players at a number of new positions.

“We have a new team at No. 2 doubles, new team at three doubles. New No. 4 singles player, new No. 3 singles,” Stone said. “It’s newness all over the place.”

Aragon (1-0 PAL Bay, 2-0 overall) added two new singles players to its singles ladder in freshman Mia Lo and junior Shanay Biouk who take over the No. 1 and No. 3 singles spots, respectively.

They were the first two matches off for Aragon. Lo is a ranked junior player and the younger sister of Aragon soccer standout Emi Lo, who is entering her junior year. Mia Lo made quick work of her opponent, beating Samantha Tom 6-0, 6-0.

Lo is off to a strong start to her high school career. She won her first singles match during the Dons’ 7-0 win over Palo Alto and then went 5-0 playing doubles in the Golden State Classic tournament hosted by Menlo School last weekend.

“Tom was first-team all-league (last year),” Owdom said. “That girl keeps the ball in play so well. She doesn’t give points away too easily.”

Lo gave the Dons their first team point, followed quickly by Biouk, who lost only one game in a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles.

The No. 2 singles match between Aragon’s Ella Teng and Burlingame’s Evelyn Du was close in each of the sets before Teng sped away to a 6-2, 6-2 victory. The pair took turns breaking each other’s serve in the opening games, with Teng taking a 3-2 lead.

She proceeded to win the next three games to take the set, 6-2.

The second set started and ended in similar fashion, with Teng winning four of the last five games to give the Dons their third team point in the best-of-7 format.

The clinching win came from the Dons’ No. 2 doubles team of Taylor Lee and Maddy Fong, who got a late break in the first set to win 6-4. In the second set, the Burlingame tandem of Katie Jarrett and Fiona Larlab held an early 2-1 lead, but the Dons got a break of serve to go up 3-2 and the Dons never stopped on their way to a 6-2 decision.

The other two doubles matches went to third-set super tiebreakers, with the Dons taking them both. Aragon’s No. 1 doubles team of Jessa Williams and Allison Newman won the first set 6-4, but the Burlingame pair of Ella Vuong and Greta Martin rallied to win the second set 6-2 and forced the first-to-10, win-by-2 super tiebreaker.

And Williams and Newman rolled, winning 10-3 to take the match.

At the No. 3 doubles spot, the Aragon pair of Catie Wu and Meilin Rife came from a set down to beat Burlingame’s Ali and Bailey Endicott, 1-6, 6-4, 13-11.

Aragon’s No. 4 singles player, Hayley Chong, rounded out the sweep with a 6-3, 6-2 win.

“Aragon has always had strong doubles,” Stone said. “Now they’re really strong in singles.”

So, does this mean Aragon is ready to knock off Carlmont?

“Until you do (know the Scots off), you don’t know,” Owdom said. “[Carlmont is] the defending champ.”