University Falls as Shuffle Fails

IRVINE —  In wake of a lopsided playoff loss, University found a reason to rejoice.

“At least we don’t have that three-hour ride home,” said University Coach Josh Davis, who watched his Trojans lose, 15-3, at home to top-seeded Santa Barbara in the semifinals of the Division I Southern Section tennis championships Thursday.

The meeting of these teams wasn’t the first. In the last four years, University has played Santa Barbara, winner of seven of the last eight section titles, three times and lost in the quarterfinals, the finals--in 1991--and Thursday the semifinals. Interestingly, it was University that interrupted the Dons’ consecutive streak when the Trojans won the title in 1986.

That was never a possibility this time, and the early results decided the contest long before the last backhand winner. Davis shuffled his lineup and took much of the punch out of his usually strong singles starters in order to boost University’s chances in doubles.

But the plan backfired. Two of the Trojans’ three points came in singles, where Jason Meyers defeated the visitors’ Nos. 2 and 3 players, but dropped a 6-1 set to Alex Decret, considered one of the top juniors in the nation and a recent winner at the Ojai tournament.

“He’s tough, very talented,” Meyers said. “He doesn’t have many faults.”

The points University (19-4) hoped to gain in doubles never materialized. Davis pulled Robbie Wilkins and Eric Peterson from singles and teamed them with Barry Martin and Seth Turbow. Wilkins and Martin had reached the quarterfinals in Ojai, Peterson and Turbow were a new team and the third team, Mike Brodie and Byron Cheng, had played on and off for several years.

“I took a gamble,” Davis said. “In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t the best idea. Eric (Peterson) probably would have won two of his matches in singles.”

But it would have taken more than tinkering to beat Santa Barbara (24-1).

“We lost to a magnificent team,” Davis said.