Boys tennis | Piedmont takes one of three matches

Damin Esper

Piedmont's Nate Welch returns a shot during his No. 3 singles match against Branson's in 2024.

Highlanders beat College Prep, 6-1

The Piedmont High School boys tennis team had a busy week, playing three matches on three consecutive days March 18-20.

On March 18, the Highlanders hosted Berkeley in West Alameda County Conference play. The Yellowjackets pulled out a tight 4-3 victory. Piedmont’s Lucas Smolko outlasted Max Krijanowski, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 at No. 1 singles. The Highlanders also got a win at No. 4, where Emilio Misra beat Julius Brown, 7-6 (5), 6-0.

Berkeley’s Yanir Charney-Weintraub beat Nate Welch at No. 2, 6-4, 6-1. The Yellowjackets Kaden Maultsby downed Nick King at No. 3, 6-2, 6-3.

In doubles, Gianluca Bini and Ben Davis got Piedmont’s only point at No. 3, defeating Evan Obbard and Otter Carychao, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Ben Taylor and Sasha Balusubramanian beat Luca LaForte and Will Tenney at No. 1, 7-5, 6-3. Will Herndon and Andrew Reagan downed Kasper Jansson and Hunter Fasteau at No. 2, 6-1, 6-2.

The next day, the Highlanders fell 6-0 at Marin Catholic. However, several matches went to third-set tie-breakers. Welch’s No. 1 singles match with Jack Millar was halted by rain with Millar ahead in a tie-breaker after they split the first two sets. Andrew Gorcy beat King at No. 2, 6-3, 3-6, 10-4. David Shepard defeated Tenney at No. 3, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 10-2. Felix Adam downed Jansson at No. 4, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Qas Vioyarthi and Charlie Miller beat Misra and LaForte at No. 1 doubles, 6-1, 6-4. Ajax Constantin and Toby Tobin defeated Bini and Fasteau at No. 2, 2-6, 6-4, 10-7 while Nikolas Wermer and Burke Hadd downed Davis and Joey Assalian at No. 3, 6-3, 3-6, 10-6.

On March 20, host Piedmont beat College Prep, 6-1. Smolko swept Nico Bitton at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-0. Welch took care of Oliver Kuncynski at No. 2, 6-1, 6-0. Misra beat Liam Miles at No. 4, 6-3, 6-0. The Cougars got their point at No. 3, where Lucas Beamer defeated Tenney, 6-4, 2-6, 10-6.

King and LaForte downed Tiago de Figueredo and Caetano de Figueredo at No. 1 doubles, 6-3, 6-4. Jansson and Davis beat Kash Desu and Aari Sabnaan at No. 2, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Assalian and Fasteau defeated Kyle Horwitz and Nic Larrian at No. 3, 6-0, 6-2.

Piedmont is 5-5 on the season, 1-2 in WACC play. The Highlanders were next scheduled to play March 25 at home against Bishop O’Dowd, then at home on March 28 against Lick-Wilmerding.

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