Carl Sonnenscheins 6-0, 6-0 win in singles play powers Central Catholic to a tight dual win over Barlow in the season finale.
The Barlow boys tennis team gave Central Catholic its biggest test of the year Wednesday, but the Rams came through with a 5-4 tiebreaker victory to finish the regular season undefeated.
The Bruins swept through the doubles ladder with a series of straight-set wins, highlighted by the Towers with a 7-5, 6-1 win in the No. 4 spot. Getting their nickname for their 6-foot-4-inch height Duncan Otis and Parker Joncus made the most of that advantage, repeatedly rushing the net and forming a wall that was impossible to hit over.
Coach has told us from early in the year that if we get up to the net it will put pressure on the other team, and thats what we wanted today, Otis said.
The duo overcame a late deficit in the first set to gain the upper hand and went on to win nine of the last 10 games.
While Barlow was dominating the doubles courts, Central Catholic was flexing its muscle in the singles ladder.
The most entertaining battle came at No. 1 singles where Centrals Joe Palodichuk scored a 6-4, 7-5 win over Barlows Kyle Helm, overcoming a 4-1 deficit in the second set to prevent Barlow from claiming a set that would have given the Bruins the dual victory.
Instead, with matches split 4-4, the dual went to the games won tiebreaker where Central held a 69-66 advantage.
The Mount Hood Conference district tournament is set for Monday through Wednesday, May 6-8, at Gresham High.
Look for extended match coverage in the Friday, May 3, print edition.
View an online photo gallery from the dual at daveball.exposuremanager.com.