Boys tennis: Branson’s Hoeveler wins singles title as third seed
It was Chase Hoeveler’s time to shine.
Hailing from one of Marin County’s well-known tennis families, the junior from the Branson School made a name for himself on Wednesday when he won the MCAL singles title with a riveting 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Redwood senior Jackson Sichel.
Five days earlier when Branson was battling Redwood for the league pennant, Hoeveler was forced to resign against Sichel late in the third set due to cramps. Nothing stopped the third-seeded Hoeveler in the rematch against the top-seeded Sichel.
“This time was great, obviously,” said Hoeveler. “Last time was also a battle just like this one. Unfortunately, last time I cramped, which was a big bummer. I love playing him because he’s such a tough competitor.”
With the MCAL singles and doubles tournament hosted at Marin Tennis Club in San Rafael, the three-day event drew lots of tennis fans, especially during Wednesday’s finals dominated by Branson. Even though the Bulls succumbed to a very tough Redwood team in head-to-head action this year, they were stellar in capturing both MCAL singles and doubles titles.
Branson’s junior and freshman brother tandem of Tommie and Finn Higgins defeated fellow Bulls Oliver Goldman and James Stovell 6-2, 6-4 for the MCAL doubles crown.
In the third-place singles match, Tam’s Tyler Byme got the best of Branson’s Ishwar Jayaraman 6-2, 6-4. Chris Lee and Cal Fazal won the third-place doubles match over Redwood teammates Will Greenwald and Julian Montalik 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Missing from the MCAL singles draw was Redwood ace Julian Zhang, one of the top 14-year-olds in the country. Redwood coach Craig Flax said Zhang opted not to compete because he had a conflict with a junior tournament and the North Coast Section singles tournament May 3-4. Players must commit to play in NCS to participate in the MCAL singles and doubles draws, according to Flax.
That opened the up draw for Sichel, who also reached the MCAL finals last season, and Hoeveler, who was a doubles finalist a year ago.
Hoeveler admittedly came out tight and had trouble returning serve against Sichel in the opening set. Just as Hoeveler seemed to settle down for a 3-1 edge in the second set, Sichel used his superior size to slam an overhead that soared over the fence for game point to make it 3-2. Sichel screamed “Let’s go” and proceeded to steal back the momentum with a service break and hold to go ahead 4-3.
One of the biggest shots of the match came with the second set score knotted at 4-4 and Sichel serving. Preferring to attack the net as often as possible, Hoeveler was suspect to lobs but on game point, he chased down a ball that hit the baseline and used a between-the-leg shot for a winner and 5-4 lead.
Asked how often he practices the shot, Hoeveler said “I probably practice it too much. I love pulling it out once in a while.”
Trailing 5-4 in the third set, Hoeveler held serve at love with two spectacular serve-and-volleys. Sichel then double-faulted three times the next game as Hoeveler pulled ahead for good 6-5 and continued to attack to capture his first MCAL individual title.
“It was everything for my match to get to the net,” said Hoeveler. “He loves to grind on the baseline. It was important to come to the net to put some pressure on him to make a good shot. It really helped me take control of the match.”
Branson and Redwood will compete in the NCS team tournaments starting May 7. Seedings and pairings will be announced on May 5. Branson is the defending NCS Division II champ.
“When you’ve got kids who play like they played today it always gets you ready,” said Branson coach Chrissie Costamagna. “This has just been great.