Spartans struggle in league play Spartans struggle in league play (March 26, 2004)

MV takes one match but falls to Monta Vista in tennis

By Colleen Corcoran

Mountain View's boys tennis team faced Monta Vista on March 18 in a series of tough matches with plenty of challenging competition.

"We're just struggling to stay up in this division," said coach Frank Smyth. "This is our first year in the De Anza Division. I thought we'd be a little stronger. I'm just amazed at how good the teams are."

The Spartans have done well in non-league matches, with a record of 4-6, but have been overwhelmed in league matches and are 0-4. The competition against Monta Vista was no exception -- the team won only one of seven matches.

Mountain View's top players were not as strong as Monta Vista's, but the number-three singles and doubles players faced closer competition, yielding one win and a two-hour-long match.

At number-three singles, John Doty earned a long, slow, calculating win against Vishnu Parhasarathy, a fiery Matador. Doty was a backboard, responding with sequences of mid-court returns. More offense, less patience, better pacing and less lingering at the baseline characterized Parhasarathy's playing. Although Doty's defensive stance allowed Parhasarathy a few dramatic passing shots and slams, Doty had fewer unforced errors and finished 7-5, 6-3. It was Mountain View's only win of the day.

"It went all right," Doty said afterward. "I pulled a muscle in my back, so I was trying to just put it away as soon as I could. ... Parhasarathy played pretty well. He had a good serve."

Kedfvin Stanek and Jim Corbett-Detig, the number-three doubles team, played two hours of extended rallies and deep crosscourts, strong serves and quick feet, that ended in a 6-7, 6-0, 6-3 loss to Monta Vista.

Ashish Kanna and Peter Shapp produced a short but dramatic number-one doubles game. Plenty of sprinting, saves, indecipherable exclamations and a few between-the-leg shots from the baseline made it one of the more entertaining matches of the day.

"One of the guys (Ken Kao) is a national player but he just didn't want to play singles. So it's hard playing against a national player, especially when we don't play as often as he does," said Kanna. "We weren't expecting to face such a good opponent."

From the start, Monta Vista put the pace on the ball, leaving Kanna and Shapp on the defensive. The loss was quick and relatively painless at 6-1, 6-0.

Meanwhile, Quan Vu, playing number-one singles, struggled for consistency and, in some cases, for luck. A ball dribbled over the net. Another brushed the line. The end result was an accumulation of minor misses and barely wons in a match dominated by baseline rallies. Although Vu won more points during the second set while at the net, Brandon Low of Monta Vista walked away with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

"Learn to be more focused," said Quan, when asked what he took away from the match.

One court over, Henry Nguyen, a freshman number-two singles player, remained resolute even until the end of a lengthy match that was finally lost to Monta Vista's Daniel Lee, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. Faced with Lee's powerful, left-handed forehand fully loaded with top spin, Nguyen responded with a mix of ground strokes, drops, lobs and volleys. Lee ran around most shots that Nguyen aimed at his weaker backhand and converted them to strong forehand returns.

"I had a lot of trouble on my return because of his leftie spin. I guess he was playing well on his part," said Lee. "I could have done better but I guess it just wasn't my day."

It may take time for the Spartans to adjust to the high caliber of competition in the De Anza Division but the potential for success is certainly there.

"They're always good matches. They're a good challenge," Smyth reflected. "We just need some more players to round out this team. We don't have quite the depth of some of these teams. I'm just amazed."

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