By Pete Borello

Boys Tennis Roundup

Lancers skunk Serra

St. Francis improved to 5-1 in the West Catholic Athletic League with a 7-0 rout of visiting Serra on Thursday.

Eric Chow posted an easy 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles.

Eagles soar

Frank Smyth seems to have picked the right place to begin his tennis coaching career.

The five seniors returning from last year’s Mountain View High boys tennis team have made Smyth’s job easier than expected.

“The seniors are really the nucleus of the team,” said Smyth, who has played tennis for 25 years and has given lessons at Cuesta Park. “They are very mature and they work hard. It’s a good group.”

The coach said the seniors’ work ethic has rubbed off on the younger players as well. It’s not unusual to see team members beat Smyth to practice, and many of them play on their own on weekends.

This includes twin brothers Derrick and Eric Elder, seniors who make up Mountain View’s top doubles team. Right-handed Derrick and lefty Eric entered this week with an undefeated record.

“They practice a lot and have a good work ethic,” Smyth said of the Elders. “They work well together and always seem to find a way to win.”

Smyth also praised the play of No. 1 singles player Derek Fong. The senior “is a very solid player,” Smyth said.

Chris Olson is the team’s new No. 2 player, having defeated fellow senior Rory Brown in a challenge match last week.

Another senior, Andrew Aitchison, “is coming up very well” at No. 4 singles, according to Smyth.

The No. 2 doubles team consists of junior Jacob Kulpers and sophomore Ryan Feinstein, while senior Korey Lee and freshman Ashish Khanne occupy the third slot.

Smyth has been especially impressed with Khanne, whom he called “a mature player.”

Smyth expects the Spartans to finish second or third in the SCVAL El Camino Division and to at least match last year’s 8-4 league record.

But that won’t be easy after last Thursday’s 4-3 loss to visiting Milpitas, which put Mountain View’s record at 3-3.

The team would need to win the division to qualify for the Central Coast Section playoffs. That would require catching up to league-leading Los Gatos (5-0), which beat Mountain View 4-3 earlier in the season.

Mountain View plays a 3:30 p.m. match at Cupertino on Thursday.

Los Altos blanked Gunn 7-0 on Thursday in an SCVAL De Anza Division match.

Winners for the Eagles (6-1, 8-1) included No. 1 player John Wong and the top doubles team of Chuck Hwang and Charles Hu. Wong coasted to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Alex Linares, while Huang and Hu beat Mike Sun and Ben Shih 6-4, 7-5.