Menlo boys tennis fell to St. Ignatius in the CCS championship yet still advanced to the NorCal tournament this weekend. Photo by Pam Tso McKenney.

By Emilio Simbeck

In their second straight CCS championship matchup, the Menlo boys varsity tennis team fell to the Saint Ignatius Wildcats; although there were various close sets, the Knights only victorious match came at No. 3 singles. Despite the loss, the 23-3 Knights still qualified for NorCal play. Their first match will take place on Friday, May 19.

At No.1 singles, junior captain Sid Chari fell to Ryder Jackson of the Wildcats in a tiebreaker, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6. Singles players Brandon Aprill and John Kim also fell in tiebreakers at No. 2 and No. 4, leaving Clark Safran as the lone victor in the singles. The Wildcats swept the doubles matchups, contributing to their overall winning score of 6-1.

Although they were not able to win their section, the Knights still have high hopes of making a deep push into the tournament. “Obviously the road to the finals of NorCals will be much harder than the road to CCS, as we are facing teams that won their section, but we are super talented up top and deep in our lineup. As long as we stay focused and play the way we’ve been playing lately, we should have success and hopefully beat the team that took us down in the finals of CCS,” senior captain Mark Ball said.

The match will take place at the Broadstone Racquet Club in Folsom.