Photograph by Paul Myers
Tennis star A.J. Kerin of Saratoga, shown in action earlier this season, won three matches in a row in straight sets to claim the De Anza Division singles title.
Kerin wins league singles crown
Soin, Wyatt finish 3rd in doubles play
By Dick Sparrer
A.J. Kerin didn't even have to break a sweat in the first round of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League's De Anza Division tennis tournament.
Because of his performance through the year, he earned the right to sit that one out.
And when he did finally take the court for the quarterfinals and subsequent rounds ... well, the Saratoga tennis star still barely broke a sweat as he rolled to the De Anza Division singles championship.
Kerin coasted to an easy 6-0, 6-0 win over Brian Silverman of Gunn in the quarterfinals and eased past Monta Vista's Eric Lee 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals before rolling over Michael Kao of Monta Vista 6-3, 6-2 in the championship match.
Kerin cruised through the three straight set victories--giving up a mere eight points in the three matches-to dominate the field. The league win earned Kerin a berth in the upcoming Central Coast Section singles tournament.
Kerin and the doubles team of Ashvin Soin and Garrett Wyatt starred for the Falcons at the league tournament.
While Kerin was driving to the singles title, Soin and Wyatt were playing their way to a third-place finish in the doubles tourney.
Unlike Kerin, Soin and Wyatt had to play in the first round of the tournament, and they made the most of the opportunity with a 6-1, 6-1 win over a Gunn duo.
The Saratoga twosome came back with a tough 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 win in three sets over a Palo Alto pair to move into the semifinals.
But the two Falcons lost 6-2, 7-5 to Will McAlister and Brian Brogan of Los Gatos.
McAlister and Brogan went on to lose to Bastian Bartels and Robert Yee of Monta Vista in the division title match, and Soin and Wyatt went on to beat a Los Altos duet in the battle for third place.
Saratoga's David Lee and the doubles team of Po-Yuan Chen and Anil Narasimha also played in the league tournament.
Lee opened the singles tourney with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Ryan Vandineni of Lynbrook, but he lost 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinals to Kao of Monta Vista.
Chen and Narasimha lost 6-1, 6-4 in the first round to the Los Altos team that Soin and Wyatt would eventually knock off to finish third.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
