If the St. Francis High boys tennis team hopes to win the West Catholic Athletic League title, coach Gary Dinneen said his Lancers must “get the monkey off our backs.”
That “monkey” is rival Bellarmine, which has driven St. Francis bananas in recent years. The Lancers failed to beat the Bells the past two seasons and finished second in the league as a result.
Last Thursday, St. Francis decided enough was enough.
The Lancers edged visiting Bellarmine 4-3 at Cuesta Park to seize sole possession of first place. The win pushed St. Francis’ WCAL record to 5-0; Bellarmine sank to 4-1.
Although the Lancers (7-1 overall) fell to the Bells 5-2 in a non-league match earlier this season, Dinneen went into Thursday’s contest confident his squad could prevail. The day before, the 16-year coach said: “I know we can beat Bellarmine; now (the players) need to believe they can do it.”
Top singles player Eric Chow didn’t stop believing in himself after getting skunked in the first set by Bellarmine’s Jayson Chung. The junior rallied by dominating the next two sets for an 0-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory that proved key to the St. Francis cause.
The win upped Chow’s record to 8-3, adding validity to Dinneen’s opinion that his co-captain is among the WCAL’s best players.
“He has a lot of ability, a good attitude and works hard,” Dinneen said. “I’m trying to get him off the baseline and to the net more; when he does that, he’ll have Division I college potential.”
Manning the No. 2 spot is Rohin Das, a fourth-year varsity starter whom the coach describes as “a leader on and off the court.”
At No. 3 is Mike Chin, a junior who doesn’t go down easily.
“He’s a fighter,” Dinneen said. “He goes three sets a lot, but most times he finds a way to win.”
Another junior, Kevin Griffin, began the season at No. 4 but a back injury may sideline him another few weeks.
In his stead, freshman Kevin Conner “has been a breath of fresh air,” Dinneen said. Conner won six of his first seven matches.
Also helping out are Jeff Tsai and Vikram Arumilli, juniors Dinneen calls “‘tweeners” who play both singles and doubles.
The Lancers’ top doubles team is made up of Mike Dunne and Jonny Wong, both seniors.
“They come to play every day,” Dinneen said. “They’re one of the best doubles teams in the league.”
The coach also has been impressed with the No. 2 tandem of Mark Daines and Mike Davenport, seniors who “complement each other well.”
Dinneen uses a variety of players at No. 3 doubles when the Lancers play non-league matches (the WCAL uses a 5-2 format), including junior Mike Eliasnia, sophomore A.J. McGillis and seniors Adeel Baig and Shane Hunner.
With all but one core player returning from last year’s team, which reached the Central Coast Section Division II semifinals, the Lancers could be dangerous come playoff time.
But Dinneen isn’t ready to focus on the postseason just yet.
“We have to get through league first,” he said.
