IRVINE- Coming off of a dramatic win against Trabuco, Beckman High School’s Boys Varsity Tennis team continued their strong play and dominated in singles matches against Edison High School, eventually winning 13-5 overall. Beckman’s team came in with a lot of confidence after a previous win decided by a single game, with even Coach Troy Fresch declaring, “today will go our way for sure.” He continued to remain confident, even as they remained tied in the initial period of the first round.

Despite early struggles in doubles, Beckman remained so dominant in singles, they almost never had to look back. “Undefeated in singles. That’s always nice,” remarked Coach Fresch. On doubles play, he continued “regardless of the score we had some great sets. Great way to work. We had some close tie breaks.”

Sophomore Matt Kawashima coasted easily past his competition. Out of 19 games, he lost only one which came in the final round. His performance wasn’t enough to completely escape the scrutiny of his teammates, who good naturedly ribbed him about his lack of a uniform. He had forgotten that they had a match that day, but he managed to play heads and shoulders above his competition.

“Aside from forgetting his uniform, he really pulled it together,” said Coach Fresch. Coming to his defense, he continued, “Matt’s a great athlete. It’s not like him to forget his uniform.”

Though he forgot he uniform, Matt maintained a great attitude, “It’s a Pacific Line Open shirt,” cracked Kawashima. “I’m playing like a pro today.”

Noteworthy in their doubles play, was the marked improvement throughout the day. Seniors, Jon Epstein and Evan Andersen won their first set, however came up short in their second. They remained determined however. “Great players aren’t characterized when everything goes their way, but when adversity strikes them,” said team captain Jon Epstein. He vowed to win their final set, and followed through by winning 6-2. He continued, “Evan and I went through struggles and were able to come up with the win. It felt good.”

Senior Arthur Park, who celebrated his birthday with both an injured right hand and a singles match, subbed in for Chris Bong. He suffered massive blisters from his match prior to that day, resulting from using a borrowed racket with poor grip. This didn’t faze him as he won 6-1, perhaps showing the makeup of the team overall in the face of adversity.

“We have a really tough season ahead of us. We are focusing on having fun, staying positive,” finished Coach Fresch. “I think we’re in great shape for the season.” They are 3-2 in a preseason that was filled with some of the toughest opponents in the area. They are in Division I this season and play their first home league match Thursday, March 20th against Irvine High School at 3:00 PM.

Singles

Tony Oh: 6-0, 6-1, 6-4

Matt Kawashima: 6-0, 6-0, 6-1

Chris Bong: 6-2, 6-4, Substitution*

*Arthur Park: 6-1

Doubles

Wayland Tang/Neal Rice: 4-6, 6-1, Substitution*

*Andrew Bui/David Wei: 6-1

Jon Epstein/Evan Andersen: 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

John Do/William Chen: 6-7 (tiebreaker 3-7), 5-7, 6-7 (tiebreaker 8-10)