Preps

Salpointe's easy title win causes close shave

GLENDALE - The bet between Salpointe Catholic High School's boys tennis players and coach John Condes was simple. If the Lancers won the Class 5A state team title this season, Condes would shave his mustache. Lose, and all the Lancers would have to shave their heads. The Lancers players left Paseo Racquet Center on Thursday with full heads of hair and their second straight state title following a 5-0 dismantling of Phoenix Desert Vista. Shortly after the win, the whiskers on Condes' upper lip were whisked away in the tennis center's parking lot. "He always has that mustache," Salpointe ace Tommy McGeorge said. "But I'm sure he's loving every second of this." McGeorge and Michael Baxter got the Lancers off to a good start with 6-1, 6-1 singles victories over Mike Wang and Geo Santos. Sophomores Ian Mordaunt and C.J. Browning followed with wins, giving freshman Cameron Ahari a chance to clinch the win. Ahari cruised against Desert Vista's Ryan Sifontes in the first set, winning 6-2, but had to battle in the second. He pulled out a 6-4 win, clinching the title for the Lancers. Condes said Ahari has been playing beyond his years all season. "He is a freshman in school years," Condes said. "But in tennis years, he's a lot more experienced than that." "I wasn't really thinking about" clinching, Ahari admitted. "I didn't even know we were up 4-0, but I figured it out when everyone ran out onto the court." Salpointe was used to meeting Phoenix Brophy Prep in the state finals, which it had done in six of the previous nine years. But because of an odd draw, the teams ended up meeting in Wednesday's semifinal round, which the Lancers won 5-2. McGeorge said facing Desert Vista in the finals was anticlimactic, but admitted he had few complaints with winning a state title. "We knew that if we could beat Brophy, we would be favored in the finals and have a good chance to win state," McGeorge said. "But we battled for every point to give ourselves the chance to win." The Lancers, who had just one senior in their top-six rotation, should only get better in the next few years. While Condes said he was too busy enjoying this win to worry about next year, Ahari said he is already thinking about extending his perfect high school career. "I think we are going to be even better next year, and I have a feeling we will do this again," he said. Setting up another chance for a friendly wager next year.