From Archives: Hillsdale High School Tennis Takes Victory At CCS | Local

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MAY 3, 2018 The Hillsdale Boys’ Tennis Team has still not struck the clock at midnight as the Knights continue to win close games.

Wednesday was the last example of the knights who never say anything. Tied with Crystal Springs 3-3 in the first round of the Central Coast section team tournament, Hillsdales fortunes, once again, was on the rackets for Casey Mulkerrins’ No. 3 Knights doubles team and Tomoya Hirano, who came to illustrate the new resolution teams.

After dropping the first set at Crystal Springs Max Chang and Henry Ding, 6-4, the Hillsdale duo rallied to win the next two sets 7-6 (4), 6-2 to clinch the Knights’ first win CCS in almost 20 years.

It’s like a dream right now, said Mulkerrins, who went wild with a cry of, Yes, Tomoya! when Crystal Springs committed a double fault on the match point.

We just find a way to build momentum and build from there.

Mulkerrins and Hirano were in this position before. The Knights pair won their match in straight sets just minutes before teammate Lucas Rosenberg won their NO. 2 singles matches to beat Aragon in the first round of the PAL team tournament. Mulkerrins and Hirano rallied to a set down to win in three which gave the Knights the victory over Carlmont in the PAL championship match and gave their ticket to CCS.

And now the Knights can add a CCS win to their 2018 register.

I don’t know why, but our games are always close, said Hirano. I tried to keep lobbing and letting them make mistakes.

I can not believe it.

Now, the Knights will face another familiar opponent in Friday’s second round when they host Menlo-Atherton, the tournament’s No. 5 seed and PAL champion in the regular season. The Bears have swept the two regular season games with Hillsdale this year.

In other CCS actions involving county teams, Carlmont, who finished second in the Division Bay regular season standings, qualified for a second round match against No. 7 Leland after beating Fremont- Sunnyvale, 5-2. Aragon, the third of four Bay Division teams in action on Wednesday, ended their season with a tough 4-3 loss to Homestead.

Crystal Springs head coach Sean Burns congratulated Mulkerrins and Hirano for devising a plan to deal with the swirling winds that still seem to shake the Hillsdale campus in the afternoon. Hirano had the gift of passing the ball over the heads of Chang and Ding, forcing the duo of Crystal Springs to defensive returns.

Their three guys in duplicate found a formula, especially with the wind, said Burns. They managed the conditions very well. They played very smart and did not give in.

Chang and Ding had a relatively easy time in the first set before Mulkerrins and Hirano sank. Hillsdale, twice in the second set, had to serve to stay in the game and the Knights came out on top twice, tying the set at 6-all and breaking the tie. The Gryphons duo led 4-3, but Hillsdale won four consecutive points to take the race at seven points, 7-4, to force a third set.

By that time, the Knights had tied the team’s score at 3 after Rosenbergs’ 7-5, 6-3 victory in No. 2 singles, which meant all eyes were on the third doubles game , which Burns said affected his players more than Hillsdale.

[The difference] was also under pressure to (play) a third set in a clinching match, said Burns.

Mulkerrins and Hirano admitted they were nervous before the last set.

We just played like it was another [set]Said Mulkerrins. I tried not to think about it, but it was not easy.

The two teams showed their nerves by taking turns breaking to start the set. Tied at 1, Crystal Springs broke Hillsdale at the sixth tied point. The Knights immediately tied the game at 2, then took control when Hirano also won his service game at sixth point, giving Hillsdale a 3-2 lead.

the Knights again shattered the Gryphons in Game 6 for a 4-2 lead. Hirano maintained service for a 5-2 advantage before Hillsdale broke the Gryphons one last time, winning the match, set and match over a double fault from Crystal Springs.

Amazing, said Hillsdale coach Jackie Nachtigall. I said to Casey, I’m really sorry. It’ll come back to you and Tomoya again.

Mulkerrins and Hirano were not in the position they were in because of the play of the rest of their teammates. Especially the singles spots, where Hillsdale won three of the four matches.

No. 1 Crystal Springs singles player freshman Brian Bilsey is a highly ranked junior player and had no trouble giving the Gryphons an early team point as he won a 6-1, 6-0 victory.

The No. 1 Gryphons’ doubles team Owen Dillon and Ethan Lo had a relatively easy win, winning 6-0, 6-2 to give Crystal Springs a 2-0 quick lead team score.

We felt like we were playing sports where we clearly had the advantage, said Burns, quoting No. 1 singles and doubles. All the shots, [Hillsdale] won. We didn’t have much room for error with these guys.

Hillsdale entered the scoreboard with a 6-2, 6-0 victory for Ben Liao at No. 3 in singles, but Crystal Springs took the lead for team 3-1 after his team of n ° 2 doubles Josh Chang and Justin Chan posted a 6-2, 6-2 win.

But Hillsdales’ Marcus Chengs win in singles # 4 gave the Knights their second team point, and when Rosenberg finished his match in singles # 2, he only had match # 3 in doubles to decide things.

Three doubles, they make it work, said Liao, one of four seniors on the Hillsdale team. For some reason, were able to organize four games to get the win.

I just remember my first year when we won a game. I remember thinking: Maybe the last year will be better Now, fourth senior year in PAL, win the PAL tournament, go to CCS. I never thought it would happen.