Scots notch important win

Last year, four teams from the PAL qualified for CCS. In the two previous seasons, it was the top three teams from the Bay that made it to the section playoffs.

That’s why Thursday match between visiting San Mateo and host Carlmont was big for both teams. With Menlo-Atherton finally off and running with five straight wins, including a statement win over Aragon, Carlmont and San Mateo figure to battle for those third- and fourth-place finishes in the standings.

Following the Scots’ 5-2 win over the Bearcats there is, technically, no fourth-place team in the Bay Division as Carlmont pulled into a third-place tie with San Mateo.

“The boys knew the weight of this match,” said Carlmont head coach Dan Nguyen. “To beat [San Mateo] 5-2 is huge for us. It’s a statement.”

San Mateo (5-2 PAL Bay) had beaten Carlmont (5-2) 4-3 in the first round. But Nguyen’s changes at No. 2 and No. 3 singles paid off. Daniel Arakaki and Chris Chi flip-flopped their positions, with Arakaki taking over at No. 2 singles and Chi moving to No. 3.

Both ended up winning their matches Thursday. Chi cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win to give Carlmont its third team point. Arakaki, on the other hand, had a roller coaster of a match against San Mateo’s Jonathan Chan, outlasting him in three sets, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, which was the match-clinching fourth point.

Arakaki, a freshman, looked dead in the water after Chan smoked him at love in the first set. But Arakaki turned things around.

“Coach first told me to be consistent,” Arakaki said. “I was making a lot of unforced errors.”

Arakaki got back in the match when he got an early break in the second set and rode that to a win. In the third, Arakaki jumped out to a 3-0 lead, only to see Chan win four straight games to take a 4-3 lead.

“I completely ruined everything,” Arakaki said. “I had a big lead and it all disappeared.”

But Arakaki went back to what his coach told him about being consistent and patient and it paid off as Arakaki went on to win the next three games and take the match.

“I told him he’s a talented player,” Nguyen said. “But in order for him to make a comeback, you have to believe.”

Carlmont’s No. 2 doubles team of Jake Levin and Varun Hayde wrapped up the Scots’ fifth point soon after, as they also needed three sets to get past San Mateo’s Kevin Zhang and Andre Khmelnitsky, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

Like Arakaki, Levin and Hayde jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the third set, only to see Zhang and Khmelnitsky rally to win three straight games to tie the set at 3-all.

The Carlmont couple, however, righted the ship. They took a 4-3 lead by breaking San Mateo’s serve and then closed out with two more game wins.

That win at No. 2 doubles could prove to be the difference if the two teams finish tied in the standings. The first tiebreaker is the number of wins in the two head-to-head meetings. The Scots own that tiebreaker with an 8-6 score advantage.

“Tough loss for us,” said San Mateo head coach John Daquioag. “Both sides played well. One bad bounce here, one bad error there, is probably the [difference].”

Carlmont’s No. 1 doubles team of Iman Shafaie and Jerry Liu gave the Scots a quick 1-0 lead as they cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win.

They were followed by Milad Shafaie’s No. 1 singles win. Shafaie fell behind early, trailing Nicholas Chu 3-2 in the first set.

“He does that,” Nguyen said of Shafaie’s slow start. “He says he likes to take the scenic route, he told me once.”

But Shafaie held serve to tie the set at 3-all and then broke Chu for a 4-3 lead. He held again to lead 5-3 and after Chu won his service game, Shafaie closed out the first set, 6-4.

In the second, Shafaie overwhelmed Chu, cruising to a 6-1 decision.

Chi’s win at No. 3 singles gave Carlmont its third point, but the Scots would have to wait more than an hour for Arakaki to clinch the win.

The Bearcats, meanwhile, stayed in the match. They earned their first win at No. 3 doubles, where Aakash Parthasarathy and Brandon Yermash won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

That was quickly followed by their second point when Brain Zhong posted a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles.

That left the No. 2 singles and doubles matches to decide the day’s winner, which Carlmont swept.

“The boys were hungry,” Nguyen said. “They knew last time (the 4-3 loss to San Mateo) wasn’t a reflection of our team.”