Last year in the CIF playoffs Viewpoint High of Calabasas defeated Santa Ynez 13-5 on their way to a Division IV title. They lost all but three of their players -but instead of rebuilding - the Patriots re-loaded.

Viewpoint eliminated the Pirates in a CIF Division IV quarterfinal 14-4 on Tuesday afternoon at the Santa Ynez tennis complex.

“We got beat by a better team,” laughed Santa Ynez coach Larry Popkin. “They beat us 13-5 last year and I don't see much difference this year.

“I predict this team will go to the finals. They are solid top to bottom and they have very few weaknesses.”

The Patriots, ranked number three in the division, dominated the Pirates, ranked six, both in singles and doubles as they rolled into a semi-final match next Tuesday against number two seeded Rowland, who defeated number seven Sage Hill..

In doubles, Viewpoint won 8-of-9 sets, led by the Liberty League doubles MVP pair of Jordan Parzick and Brandon Mischel. The duo won their three sets 6-0, 6-2, 6-0. The lone doubles victory came from the team of Evan Ineman and Brandon Mann 6-1 over Holden Woodward and Kobi Joffe.

Viewpoint's number three singles player Bryce Beisswanger won all three of his sets, including an upset of Los Padres League MVP Juan Ferrer in a tie break 7-6 (7-3). He also won a tight set over freshman Miles Seemann 7-5.

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Ferrer won over the number one and two players 6-3, 7-5, while Seemann took a 6-4 victory over number two and returning player Jake Broogham 6-4.

With Parzick and Mischel returning from last season's championship team, Popkin wasn't confident that Santa Ynez would do much damage in doubles.

“I thought we had a better shot in singles,” Popkin said. “But all of their three - I didn't see a difference between the three. They all played like number ones.”

Even with the defeat, Popkin was thrilled with the performance of his squad this season.

“Our team - we went beyond our expectations,” he explained. “The way we looked the first couple weeks, I would of been happy with third, and here we are in the quarterfinals. We gave everybody a good run for the money.”

Losing most of their top players after last year, with the exception of Ferrer, Ineman and Cole, Popkin did not expect the amount of success the Pirates would show in 2008.

“They have done nothing but improve,” Popkin said. “And probably the biggest thing was this team really liked each other. And they all grew.

“Of course the best part is we only lose one guy next year.”

Losing Ineman, who Popkin and assistant Walt Seemann have said was most likely the best doubles player on the team, will be big. But Popkin is confident that the returning players and some of the junior varsity players will continue to get better.

“All the JV players have been working out with us and they moved up a level as well,” Popkin explained. “They know what to expect for next year.

“Tennis is a game they can play for life. You want them to have fun and they did. As a coach I am proud of our season.”

May 14, 2008