Boys’ Tennis: Sailors’ Stalder less than perfect
SEAL BEACH — After each of his first three matches this weekend at Seal Beach Tennis Center, Newport Harbor High senior Reese Stalder talked about needing to capitalize better on opportunities.
Stalder won those round of 16, quarterfinal and semifinal matches at the CIF Southern Section Individual boys’ tennis tournament. But, when you’ve been playing tennis as long as Stalder has, you know that opportunities against top opponents can be fleeting.
It was the guy on the other side of the net who blew chances in the second set of the CIF Individuals singles championship match. Palos Verdes junior Brandon Holt had two match points, but Stalder saved both of them and won the set in a tiebreaker.
The players got a 10-minute break before the third set began. Holt was furious with himself.
“Usually I talk to my coach [Danny Moscovici] or my parents, but I was so mad that I lost those [match points],” Holt said. “I went into the locker room and I just sat down and said, ‘I’m not going to let me losing those two match points affect me at all.’ Play like it’s one set, starting from scratch. I’m usually not able to do that, but luckily I was able to do it on such a big occasion, against such a great player.”
The No. 3-seeded Holt came out firing in the third set. Now it was top-seeded Stalder who couldn’t capitalize on several opportunities to break Holt’s serve.
When the roller coaster ride had ended, it was Holt who came away as the CIF Individuals champion after earning a 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1 victory.
Stalder’s run at the CIF Individuals title and an undefeated season ended one match short of both. Stalder, bound for TCU, finished the season 68-1.
Stalder, who defeated Eddie Gutierrez of Fullerton, 6-3, 6-4, in a semifinal match earlier Saturday, was vying to become the third CIF Individuals boys’ singles champion in Sailors program history, joining Bob Ogle in 1971 and Brett Hansen-Dent in 1990.
Instead, it is Holt who becomes the third champion in Palos Verdes history. He joins Billy Martin (1972), the current UCLA men’s tennis coach widely considered one of the best junior tennis players in history, as well as 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras (1987).
“I’m in good company,” said Holt, the son of former world No. 1 Tracy Austin. “Reese is just such a great player. I didn’t really blow the match points that I had. Reese came up with some amazing shots, obviously. He’s an amazing player and he deserves this tournament just as much as me. It was a dogfight all the way until the end. I played well in the third, came back swinging and a few things went my way.”
Holt, who defeated Connor Rapp of Palm Desert, 6-2, 6-2, in a semifinal match, put the pressure on Stalder from the beginning. Stalder used some big serves to climb out of a love-40 hole at 2-3 in the first set, but was unable to accomplish that feat in his next service game as Holt broke serve for a 4-3 lead. From there, Holt was able to earn the set.
The second set was more unpredictable. Stalder took advantage of his first break point of the match to earn a 3-1 lead, but he ultimately couldn’t hold it, losing three games in a row.
“I paid for it in the finals,” Stalder said of his inability to consolidate his breaks of serve. “I can’t do that against good players ... He’s going to hurt me. I can’t just give him free points.”
Holt seemed to be headed to a straight-sets victory. But Stalder hit a backhand winner to save Holt’s first match point at 5-4, 40-30, and eventually broke serve to even the set at 5-5. After both players held serve, the set went to a tiebreaker.
Holt had his second match point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but Stalder rallied to win it on an ace.
Stalder had the momentum, but he was unable to take advantage of two break points in the opening game of the third set. Holt, serving at 3-1, then saved three more break points to put himself two games away from the title.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘I’m blowing it again,’ ” Holt said. “He had a few break points there which would have completely changed the match ... that’s a huge swing. I knew that I wasn’t out of the match though. Reese can come up with some amazing shots, some amazing games. The pressure didn’t really seem to be getting to him, which was good for him, but after that I was able to pull it out.”
Stalder pulled away earlier Saturday, in his semifinal match against Gutierrez. He was down, 3-2, in the first set before reeling off eight straight games, which took him to a 4-0 advantage in the set. He was broken serving for the match at 5-2, but he got another chance two games later and didn’t relinquish the opportunity, closing it out despite dealing with cramping in his right calf muscle.
“I was taking the ball earlier,” Stalder said. “I could kind of direct it where I wanted to better, as opposed to letting him dictate the action. He threw in some untimely double faults, so that definitely helped my cause.”
For Stalder, the championship match result was a disappointing ending to what has been a sparkling high school career. The National High School Tennis All-American, a four-year varsity player, was a combined 114-5 in his junior and senior seasons. He was the Sunset League singles champion this year, but he will now move on to college tennis at TCU.
Newport Harbor Coach Kristen Case said Stalder was not only a great player, but also a great role model for the younger players on the team.
“I have nothing but great things to say about him, the respect he shows for his opponents and the respect he shows for his teammates,” Case said. “[I admire] how humble he is for all the success that he’s had.”
Stalder competes next in the Southern California Junior Sectional Championships later this month. Stalder and partner Billy Rowe are the defending doubles champions at that prestigious event, while Stalder was a boys’ 18s singles finalist last year as well.
Twitter: @mjszabo
