An unexpected repeat

Barely recovered from enduring Viewpoint’s dramatic March 28 win in the Div. V boys’ volleyball final, athletic director Patrick Moyal was back passing out CIF medals just three days later at the Claremont Club as the Patriots’ boys’ tennis team took home an unexpected second-straight Div. V championship.

TWICE AS NICE—Viewpoint junior Arjun Kolachalam delivers a strong forehand during the Patriots’ dominant 13-5 victory over Whitney in the Southern Section’s Div. V championship matchDespite a 6-6 start and no Liberty League title, Viewpoint showed it could perform when it mattered, winning its final eight matches of the regular season and five straight in the playoffs.

The Patriots upset No. 1 seeded Cate School, 11-7, in the semifinals, before making short work of No. 4 seeded Whitney, 13-5, in the championship match.

Senior captain and No. 1 doubles’ player Nigel Beckmeier said this year’s triumph was even more gratifying than the first, especially since many questioned the group’s potential following graduation of four players and an early season-ending injury to another.

“Nobody at our school knew we were even close to it . . . nobody even considered (a CIF title),” Beckmeier said. “This year was much harder, but considering we made it all the way, I’d have to say this one was better. It was much more of a challenge, which made it a lot more gratifying.” Longtime head coach Asif Azhar said he took his players aside after they dropped their sixth match and told them to stop listening to the voices—the voices that said they didn’t have the talent of last year’s title-winning team, a team that featured three-time league champion Geoff Chizever (69-0 his senior year)“I said, ‘Listen, we are the CIF champs. We have to defend our title,’” Azhar said. “I said, ‘You’re better than you think you can be . . Let’s just go out and see what could happen if we give it everything we’ve got. Lose or win.’ . . . And they never lost another match” Viewpoint was paced by No. 1 singles player Troy List, only a sophomore. List went 15-0 in the playoffs.

In doubles, the duo of Beckmeier and freshman Brandon Mischel were 15-0 in the playoffs as well, including a match-altering, upset victory over Cate’s No. 1 doubles tandem Griffin Richards and Will Geiger, who came into the playoffs undefeated in Div. V action.

Other key contributors in the Patriots’ repeat championship were: juniors Arjun Kolachalam, Todd Snyder, Reed Lerner and Neil Patak, sophomore Eric Leidersdorf and freshman Philip Oliart. Senior Andrew Kayvanfar was co-captain.