As lightning split a cloud-darkened sky, the Brentwood boys varsity tennis team was down 9-4 to San Marino High School in the last of three rounds of play in the state high school Division II championship finals held June 3 in Claremont. With only 5 matches to go, and needing to win them all, prospects looked as dark as the skies overhead. Players and coaches clung tenaciously to tiny shreds of hope. The best Brentwood could dare to dream – improbable as it seemed – would be a 9-9 tie in matches. A winner would then be decided by total games won in each of the 18 sets played in both singles and doubles – on this day, a tally of 150 games altogether. But that, too, seemed as distant as the thunder that echoed across the courts.
A total tie in both matches and games seemed unthinkable. Never before in the history of the CIF finals had a contest ended with the score in both matches AND games dead even. That is, until this day when the Brentwood Eagles achieved one of the biggest team comebacks in CIF finals history to first level the score from a seemingly insurmountable deficit, and eventually earn its second consecutive CIF title and third CIF championship in four years in the tennis equivalent of double overtime.
Two of the Brentwood Seniors – Co-captains Walker Kehrer and Casey Grindon – earned another piece of California Interscholastic Federation history by winning championships in three different CIF divisions during their four years of varsity play: This year in Division II and previously in Divisions III and IV, a feat none of the tournament officials could recall having seen before. Walker had surprised the team earlier in the day with news that he’d be in the lineup for the first time in weeks following a shoulder injury, and every team member (see roster below) contributed mightily to help bring home the banner and trophy…
The 3 ˝ hour finals match featured more twists, turns and drama than a TV soap opera, including Eagle players collapsing on the court, pressure-packed tiebreakers and a heart-stopping game miscount by tournament officials that briefly declared the opposing team from San Marino the victors. As tournament officials frantically recounted game scores from all 18 matches, and players, parents and spectators waited in hushed silence, the match was declared a deadlock at 9-9 for matches and 75-75 in games.
Tournament officials were initially unclear on what should happen next. The solution, by CIF rules, was to, in effect, replay an entire mini-match as a series of 18 tiebreakers (first team to 7 points; win by 2). Each of the three singles players and each of the three doubles teams would play a tie breaker against their counterparts on the opposing team (18 total).
The moods in the two opposing team huddles could not have been more starkly different. The Eagles, buoyed by a miracle-comeback and a scoring error that had literally declared them losers, only to see the ruling reversed, were pumped. Shouts of encouragement and high-fives filled the chilly air as the teams took the court for the overtime rounds.
The first round of six tiebreakers went heavily in favor of the Eagles 5-1 as player after player stepped up under pressure with big shots. San Marino played with great skill and honor, but in the end Brentwood prevailed 12-6 in the tiebreak round. As the last ball was struck, the team poured onto the court to celebrate an improbably-great state high school championships. And without a doubt, it is a story of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat that will be long remembered and re-told many times in years to come.
Championship Roster
Seniors
Walker Kehrer, Captain
Casey Grindon, Captain
Cliff Zimmerman
Cameron Shabahang
Michael Shagrin
Caleb Baer
Bryan Hudson
Jared Davis
Juniors
Jackson Isaacs
Danny Sharon
Chris Lord
Nicholas Neisser
Sophomores
Kevin Bral
Alex Rose
Freshmen
Daniel McCall
Victor Vu
Coaches
Dr. Lee Herzog, Head Coach
Spencer Wall, Assistant Coach
