Boys’ tennis team keeps rolling despite injury to No. 1 player

With only one loss to Monta Vista High School out of the seven total league matches played, the boys’ tennis team is proving to once again be one of the top teams in the area.

Even without their top player, senior Neel Bedekar, they beat Los Altos 7-0 on March 24.

Bedekar, usually the team’s No. 1 singles player, is out with an ankle injury and has not played in the past few matches. Bedekar tripped while walking and hurt his ankle.

Freshman Dean Stratakos has moved up in the lineup to No. 4 singles filling in the void left by Bedekar.

“I am quite confident we will still win the league and get the league title,” Bedekar said. “Even though [my injury] has hurt the team a bit, I’ll be back for CCS for sure and that’s when it really counts.”

The new players on the team have contributed greatly to the team’s success. Sophomore Matt Kermin and junior Abhay Aanabathula play No. 3 doubles and have really stepped up, according to Bedekar.

The team beat Palo Alto 6-1 on March 19 and won 7-0 against Lynbrook on March 17. The team lost to Monta Vista 4-3 on March 10, even though they previously beat the Matadors 6-1. Even so, the Falcons remain atop the De Anza League because Monta Vista has also been upset by Gunn.

During California High School Tennis Classic in Fresno on March 6-7, which attracted 122 teams, the Falcons made it to the finals by beating Bellarmine in the semifinals but lost to Menlo School 6-1 in the finals. According to Bedekar, there were some memorable matches.

“We beat Bellarmine for the first time in four years in the semifinals so that was really good,” Bedekar said.

However, the team had a scare in one of their earlier matches against Palisades Charter High School, a team from Southern California. Bedekar played a really “nerve-wracking match. It was 8-8 and it could have gone either way. It finally came down to 10-8 in the third set tiebreaker.”

According to Bedekar, the team almost won on six separate occasions.

“If we had won one more point, it would have been over,” Bedekar said. “But it wasn’t. So luckily that one final match, we were able to win.”

The team will play the first round of CCS on May 6.

“We’re hoping to make a really deep run at CCS and hopefully get to finals again and contest Menlo,” Bedekar said.