Knights Win Individual & Team Districts
The boys tennis team won the singles and doubles competition at the District Individual Tournament on Friday, May 6. The team also took home the first-place Team District trophy on Wednesday, May 11.
Individual District Championship
In the singles, Sankeerth Gandhari '24 beat Carl Junction 6-0, 6-0 in the second round. In the all-important second round that locks up a trip to state, Sankeerth defeated Thomas Jefferson Independent 6-1, 6-0. In the finals, Sankeerth played a flawless baseline game for a 6-1, 6--0 victory and a trip to Springfield for the State Competition.
In the other singles slot, freshman Liam Groden won his first-round against Ruskin with ease and rolled through his second round 6-0, 6-1 against Belton. Though Liam lost a close one in the semis, he came back and won a third-place medal in Districts by defeating Thomas Jefferson Independent.
In the doubles, Richey '22 and Bobby '25 King rolled through the first round and beat Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals to lock up a trip to state. To top off their day they dominated the #1 Thomas Jefferson team 6-0, 6-1 in the finals to win the District Doubles Championship.
In the other doubles matches, George Colombo '23 and Aaram Salam '23 won against Ruskin in the opening and against Belton in the second round. Though they lost a tough semifinal round to Thomas Jefferson's #1 team, they came back and beat their #2 team 6-3, 6-4 to capture 3rd place medals for the district tournament.
Team District Championship
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In the singles, Sankeerth Gandhari '24 beat Carl Junction 6-0, 6-0 in the second round. In the all-important second round that locks up a trip to state, Sankeerth defeated Thomas Jefferson Independent 6-1, 6-0. In the finals, Sankeerth played a flawless baseline game for a 6-1, 6--0 victory and a trip to Springfield for the State Competition.
In the other singles slot, freshman Liam Groden won his first-round against Ruskin with ease and rolled through his second round 6-0, 6-1 against Belton. Though Liam lost a close one in the semis, he came back and won a third-place medal in Districts by defeating Thomas Jefferson Independent.
In the doubles, Richey '22 and Bobby '25 King rolled through the first round and beat Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals to lock up a trip to state. To top off their day they dominated the #1 Thomas Jefferson team 6-0, 6-1 in the finals to win the District Doubles Championship.
In the other doubles matches, George Colombo '23 and Aaram Salam '23 won against Ruskin in the opening and against Belton in the second round. Though they lost a tough semifinal round to Thomas Jefferson's #1 team, they came back and beat their #2 team 6-3, 6-4 to capture 3rd place medals for the district tournament.
Team District Championship
The Barstow boys tennis team faced off in record May heat against a recent two-time Final Four Class 2 team, Thomas Jefferson Independent, at the Barstow courts on Wednesday, May 11, and finished with a 5-0 win. The Knights swarmed the net, found their best first serving percentage of the year and made the statement early against the second-best Class 2 team on the western side of the state.
At #1 doubles senior Richey King and sophomore Sankeerth Gandhari broke away at 3-2 to win to reel off 5 of the next six games for an 8-3 win. Facing an unusual #2 doubles team with Thomas Jefferson's strongest player at #2 doubles, junior George Colombo and freshman Bobby King ran off the first 7 games in a row before finishing with an impressive 8-3 win.
At #3 doubles, facing Thomas Jefferson's second-best doubles player, the upset of the day came from junior Aaram Salam and freshman Liam Groden. Liam and Aaram took an early lead and never let up. With steady serves and a strong baseline game, the boys won 8-5, leaving only two points to move the team on to sectionals. Richey King brought a big serve and impressive baseline game against a strong #1 opponent for a 6-0, 6-1 win. At #2, Bobby. King cleared the table with a strong ground game and aggressive net game to wrap up the trip to sectionals 6-0, 6-1.
The Knights will play the winner of District 5 at Barstow on Monday, May 16, at 4 p.m. Congratulations Knights!
