By Pete Borello

Prep Boys Tennis Playoffs

SFHS doubles ousted

Most athletes, no matter how good they are, have at least one opponent that gives them trouble.

For Los Altos High tennis player Jon Wong, that opponent is Menlo School’s James Pade.

In the May 21 quarterfinal round of the Central Coast Section boys individual tennis tournament, Pade beat fellow senior Wong in straight sets for the second time this season. Pade cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 7 Wong at Imperial Courts in Aptos.

“He had a bad draw,” Los Altos coach Cuong Duong said of his star player. “(Pade) was the only guy who could beat Jon; he could beat the rest of the field. It’s too bad.”

Not that Wong didn’t have his chances against Pade, who also handled him earlier this month in the semifinals of the CCS team tournament.

“Jon had a bunch of chances to break (Pade’s serve), but he didn’t take advantage of the opportunities,” Duong said. “But Pade is a very tough competitor; he’s probably just the better player right now.”

Wong earned the chance to play Pade - who went on to capture the singles title - by defeating unseeded Phil Yalkut of Leland 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 in a first-round match earlier that day.

Pade and Wong might be teammates next season, as both are bound for Stanford. Pade has earned a partial scholarship, Duong said, and Wong hopes to make the team as a walk-on.

St. Francis High’s doubles team of Eric Chow and Rohin Das also was eliminated in the CCS quarterfinals, falling to Menlo’s David Oehm and Scott Blumenkranz.

Sixth-seeded Chow and Das lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to No. 3 Oehm and Blumenkranz.

“I was proud of Eric and Rohin for their efforts,” Lancers coach Gary Dinneen said. “It was truly a pleasure coaching them in the tournament; they gave an effort worthy of champion-caliber play.”

In the first round, Chow and Das beat unseeded Jason Wu and Jeremy Choy of South San Francisco 6-1, 6-2.