Menlo's mystique claims another crown Menlo's mystique claims another crown (May 23, 2001)

Knights give senior Frank Walters his third straight championship to go along with four consecutive CCS titles

by Keith Peters

Frank Walters has played on Central Coast Section championship teams and helped his Menlo School teammates capture NorCal crowns.

Yet, there was something special when Walters hoisted the perpetual trophy that honors the winner of the NorCal Regional Team Championship.

Not only was it the same trophy that Walters' older brother, Preston, raised last season, but it gave Frank something even Preston wasn't able to achieve.

By helping defeat Monta Vista, 4-3, last Saturday at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium, Frank Walters wrapped up his career in unique fashion - playing on four straight CCS and three consecutive NorCal championship teams. In fact, during Walters' career, the Knights never lost a boys' tennis match in the postseason - going 21-0 since losing to Monta Vista in the 1997 CCS title match.

"This one is the most satisfying," said Walters, who teamed with David Oehm to win at No. 1 doubles - setting the stage for junior Patrick MacKay to clinch the match. "Preston's freshman year, everyone was excited but we lost CCS. After we won CCS my freshman year, the team's captain, Mark Roberts, told me I had a chance to win four CCS titles. I didn't know it was going to happen."

The NorCal tournament made its debut in 1999 but Menlo and Walters never missed a beat, winning every event to match the impressive accomplishment of the Menlo girls' tennis team.

Walters can't put a finger on what it is, what makes Menlo so unbeatable during the postseason.

"Our coach (Bill Shine) calls it the Menlo mystique," Walters said. "That we pull things out at the end. Last year was the same thing."

Menlo won last season's NorCal crown with a 4-3 win over Monta Vista. Shine was hoping to face Jesuit in Saturday's final, if for no other reason than Menlo already had played Monta Vista three times this season and won all three.

Jesuit, which had handed Menlo one of its three losses this season, couldn't live up to its part of the bargain and fell to Monta Vista in the semifinals, 4-3, after Menlo knocked off Campolindo, 5-2.

That set the stage for an entertaining finale, one that Shine pretty much expected.

"Wow," Shine said. "That was the best one. It certainly was the closest one. It's tough to beat the second-best team in Northern California four times, but our guys showed they were the best team."

Despite their earlier wins over the Matadors, the Knights really were pushed to the limit this time. With the match deadlocked at 2, three matches were going into a third set.

When Menlo junior David Kaplan dropped his No. 4 singles match, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2, Monta Vista had a 3-2 lead. That left things up to the No. 1 doubles team of Walters and Oehm, plus MacKay at No. 2 singles.

Walters and Oehm had a 5-2 lead in the third set, only to see Monta Vista cut it to 5-4. The Knights; tandem pulled it together for a 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 victory and everyone headed over to the main stadium to watch MacKay at work.

It was MacKay who clinched Menlo's 4-3 win over Monta Vista last month in a nonleague match. Once again, everything was left up to him.

"Patrick's Mr. Clutch on our team," Walters said.

Playing slow and deliberate and keeping the ball in play, MacKay took advantage of Stefan Parker's leg-cramping during the third set.

"He plays real slow," Shine said of MacKay's style. "Patrick doesn't want to use up too much energy. We kind of knew it was going to come down to him."

MacKay had played Parker three times before and beaten him all three times. With Parker cramping, it was just a matter of time and Shine knew it.

"If you have an injury, you do not want to play Patrick," Shine said. "And if Patrick wins, we win. His matches were always pivotal this year."

Sure enough, MacKay wound up finishing off Parker, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, to clinch Menlo's third straight CIF/USTA crown.

"We always talk about adding to the dynasty," said Walters, Menlo's only senior. "I did my job, not I'm out of here."

Walters plans on playing tennis next season at Princeton, but you know he'll be keeping an eye on Menlo's fortunes next season. It's a team that appears to be getting only better.