By Pete Borello

It was a no-lose situation for Los Altos High, but a no-win situation for the school’s girls tennis coach.

With two of their tandems facing off in the doubles final of last week’s SCVAL El Camino Division Individual Tournament, the Eagles were assured a championship.

However, this put Cuong Duong in the awkward situation of coaching against himself. So to avoid this, the Eagles’ longtime coach elected to play the role of spectator instead.

“I pretty much let them play,” Duong said with a chuckle. “I didn’t coach any of the girls.”

In the end, Alicia Incerpi and Emily Keenan defeated teammates Emily Reid and Christina Strong 6-3, 6-2.

“It was a fun match to watch,” Duong said. “I don’t think (Reid and Strong) were at their best, but (Incerpi and Keenan) played very good tennis.”

Incerpi and Keenan played No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, during the regular season and practiced together just a few times prior to the division tourney, held Nov. 5-6 at Mountain View High. Reid and Strong, on the other hand, have played No. 1 doubles all season and came in undefeated in division competition.

Yet Incerpi and Keenan “just found a way to win,” Duong said, “especially in the semifinals.”

After dropping the first set of their semifinal match against a duo from Lynbrook, Incerpi and Keenan battled back to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

“They didn’t give up, stuck with it and finally found a strategy that worked.” Duong said.

By winning the division title, Incerpi and Keenan qualify for the Central Coast Section Individual Tournament, set for Nov. 25-26 at Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos.

But first, the two players and their Los Altos teammates will participate in the CCS team playoffs.

The division champion Eagles were slated to play an opening-round match at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, vs. Notre Dame-Salinas (16-2). The winner plays at 2:30 p.m. today against Notre Dame-San Jose (17-3) at Backesto Park in San Jose.

Vu takes third

Mountain View’s Anhthu Vu placed third in the singles portion of the El Camino Division Individual Tournament.

After losing in the semifinals, Vu beat Cynthia Huang of Lynbrook 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the match for third place.

“Anhthu improved from last year when she took fourth in the consolation match,” Spartans coach Frank Smyth said. “We’re happy with that at Mountain View.”

SFHS wins doubles title

St. Francis’ Eric Boutacoff and Jillian Bauer beat a tandem from Mitty to claim the West Catholic Athletic League doubles title last Thursday at Club Sport in Fremont.

Boutacoff-Bauer, seeded third, prevailed 7-6, 6-7, 7-6.

Shannon Conner and Monica Martin de Bustamante reached the doubles semifinals, falling to the same Mitty duo their St. Francis teammates defeated in the final.

In singles, the Lancers’ Stephanie Schnitter, the No. 2 seed, lost 7-6, 6-2 to St. Ignatius’ top player, Elizabeth Plotkin. Plotkin, seeded No. 1, also eliminated St. Francis’ Megan Kawahara, the fifth seed, 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals.

St. Francis (14-5) also moves on to the CCS team playoffs. As the fourth seed, the squad was granted a first-round bye. The Lancers host either Monterey (8-6) or Prospect (8-3) at 2:30 p.m. today at Cuesta Park in Mountain View.