BCSS 2018 Tennis Championships

The senior tennis team had a scare in their quarter-final match against Archbishop Carney, but after that it was clear sailing as they marched to their 11th straight BC AA title on Saturday. Coach Wong set up his line-up on Saturday in the hopes of achieving a 6-5 victory over St. Michaels University School from Victoria. He expected a tough match from the the deep and talented SMUS squad, but was confident that the Cavs had enough firepower to win it all.

In the end, it wasn’t even close. Collingwood took three of the four opening doubles’ matches and then swept the two singles matches as well. With a 5-1 lead, SMUS needed a miracle and when the mixed doubles match was quickly won, the Cavs were BC Champs again.

Here is Coach Wong’s report:

The Collingwood Varsity Tennis Team won their 11^th consecutive AA Provincial Championship with a 7-3 win over St. Michaels University School in the final.

The team earned wins over University Hill (10-1) and Immaculata (9-2) in pool play. The Cavs were then matched against Archbishop Carney in a quarter-final that had the atmosphere of a provincial final. The boys team on Carney frustrated the Cavs with their aggressive net play. Lachlan Robertson earned a pivotal victory in the singles match, defeating a top-ranked U18 player 6-2. The win set up a mixed doubles showdown, where once again, Lachlan and his partner Neeki Alavi were able to pull off a 6-3 victory in front of a raucous crowd of tennis fans. The Cavs escaped with a 6-5 victory, and moved on to a semi-final against perennial powerhouse Shawnignan Lake.

The team showed poise and focus against SLS, and jumped out to a quick lead, winning decisively 8-3. This included a top performance from doubles pairing Nima Danaei and Atsa Cridge, and the continued strong play of veteran Amanda Finnie. Amanda was serving double duty for the weekend, as the college bound rower was simultaneously competing at a regatta.

Legendary Coach Rose was in attendance at the finals to cheer on the Cavs, as they took on SMUS – the team who one year ago challenged the Cavs in a 3 hour and 30 minutes nail biting final. Coach Wong knew that there were going to be several key match-ups, and this included getting a much needed win on the boys side.

Conor Robertson and Rylan Hastings earned a hard-fought tie-breaking win over the A Doubles Team 6-5 (7-4). Jack Mathisen and Nima Danaei nearly pulled off a major upset, losing 4-6. On the girls side, Neeki Alavi and Liz Mathisen formed a doubles team that won 6-0. Maya Negris and Amy Young defeated the A Doubles team 6-2.

Lachlan Robertson continued his perfect provincial run with a 6-0 singles victory, and in what may be deemed the match of the day, Isabel Drouin won 6-5 (7-2) in a tie-breaker in the girls singles match. The team was elated with their 5-1 start heading into crossovers.

Soon after, Lachlan and partner Grace Drouin sealed provincial win with a 6-0 mixed doubles win. Maya and Amy won 6-1 in their crossover. Conor and Rylan lost 1-6, and Aleem and Imraan Karmali lost 3-6. Maisie Hastings and Dina Rahimian were on serve with their opponents when the match was called.

Three-year partners, Maya and Amy, were named the AA Girls Doubles MVP’s. They were a sparkling 9-0 at Provincials. They outscored their opponents 54-12 in the process. Grade 8 phenom, Lachlan, was named AA Provincial Boys MVP. Lachlan was 5-0 in singles play, winning his matches: 6-0, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0, 6-0. He was also a perfect 3-0 in mixed double play.

2018 BC AA Tennis Champions

Neeki Alavi celebrates her fifth BC Championship with a funny ‘selfie’.

Coach Andy Wong had plenty to smile about on Saturday afternoon.