Paly athletes fared well at last week's Central Coast Section individual championships as sophomore Dan Goldberg and junior Matt Nichols teamed up to win the boys doubles title, and freshman Jia Hu was runnerup in the girls singles final.
Goldberg and Nichols were assuming different roles in the CCS tourney than they had during the season. Normally, Goldberg played No. 2 singles and Nichols competed in mixed doubles. However, the two have played together during non-high school tournaments.
They showed their teamwork in the championship, beating Milpitas' Hun Huynh and Trang Nghiem, 15-9, 15-10.
Hu's experience on Thursday was a bit more grueling. She beat El Camino's Maggie Ho in the winners'-bracket final, 11-7, 11-2, but then lost the championship match, 8-11, 11-5, 3-1. In the challenge match, Hu fell, 11-1, 7-11, 11-0.
"I've played her (Ho) in other tournaments and I've beaten her," said Hu, who is ranked No. 2 nationally in 16s. "I couldn't move today, that was my major problem. I hit shots to where I shouldn't have hit them."
Hu has a busy year ahead of her. One of her major outings will be at the Pan Am Invitational in Manhattan Beach this summer, a tournament featuring top players from South America, Canada and the U.S. Next year, Hu -- as well as Goldberg and Nichols -- will compete in the Junior Nationals.
Another Viking, senior Tod Sacerdoti, reached the losers'-bracket final but lost to El Camino's Wiyanto Wondany, 15-6, 15-13.
--Alex Valdes
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