Boys tennis defeated University High School 10-8 to win the Division 1 California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIF-SS) Championship on May 15. This is the first CIF-SS championship for the team since 2022.
University High School has won the Southern Section title for the last four years and won state in 2024 and 2025. Last year, the school lost to University 8-10 in the Southern Section finals and 2-5 in the Regional finals.
Boys Tennis Program Head Bo Hardt said the team has been aiming to win a CIF title and is proud of the victory.
“We went to Orlando, we went to nationals and, at the end of everything, we always said our goal was to win CIF,” Hardt said. “To win is amazing and in the way we did by coming back and showing our calmness under pressure, resilience and unity as a team was special. This team was built over the last four or five years through the middle school program and in club. This group’s been together for all those years, training to work towards this goal.”
With the team leading at 9-8, singles player Gideon Ames ’27 was the last player on the court when he won the 10th set for the team to win the championship. Ames beat junior Daniel Zhu 6-4, who he lost to last year in the finals. Ames said the win was especially meaningful due to the team’s loss last year to University High School and the trust his team had in him to win his final match.
“We lost last year to University 8-10 on the same courts in Redlands so to finally get it done and win 10-8 means so much,” Ames said. “When the team ran onto the court after the win it was the best moment of my life. The team got so close as the season went on and there’s no better way to end than a court storm. I am so glad that everyone trusted me to put me in that position of playing the two singles. We knew that there was a possibility where it would be me versus [Zhu] as the last match and it felt so good to get that win.”
The team was seeded fourth in Division 1 CIF-SS and beat the fifth seed Palos Verdes Peninsula High School 10-8 in the quarterfinals and the first seed Corona del Mar (CDM) High School 10-8 in the semifinals. Hardt said the wins were meaningful considering the difficulty of their bracket.
“It was sweet to beat Peninsula and CDM,” Hardt said. “CIF gave us a very tough draw. We had to beat three really good teams to win the title.”
Doubles player Chase Klugo ’27 said the tough playoff draw helped the team prepare for and learn lessons that were crucial for the finals.
“The road to the finals was a great thing because it prepared us to beat University,” Klugo said. “We would’ve had a much tougher time beating them if we didn’t have that path. In the first match against Peninsula, we had a really strong start and a big lead but then in the final round we let off the gas a little bit and they started to come back. It was really important for us to see we needed to stay consistent and keep pushing really hard when our opponents are down.”
The team will play for the Southern California Team Regional title on May 21, where they will be placed in an eight team bracket with the top four teams from CIF Southern Section, the top two teams from the CIF San Diego Section, the champion of the CIF Central Section and the champion of the CIF Los Angeles City Section. The format will change where each match will be best of three sets and each team will have four players in singles and three teams of doubles.
Hardt said the different format of regionals will benefit the team as they have a strong roster all the way through.
“In regionals we add one more position of singles,” Hardt said. “In any format where we add another piece, it brings out our depth which gives us an advantage. The regional format over the years traditionally has favored us and I think will favor us again because our strength is our depth.”
Ames said the team is not done after the CIF-SS win and must continue to prove they are the best team in the region.
“Our season’s not over yet,” Ames said. “We still have a lot more we want to accomplish. Winning Division 1 is good, but we have to keep using that momentum in regionals where we might play University High School in the finals again. They are going to be coming for revenge so we have to prove that we are the best team in Southern California.”
The team will be seeded number one in Regionals, and if they advance, they will play the champion of the Northern California Regionals.
Menlo School, which is ranked fourth in the country by Universal Tennis Rating, is a top seed in Northern California. The team lost to Menlo High School 1-5 in the finals of the All-American Tournament, but was missing singles player Connor Yang ’27. Ames said if the team advances to the state finals he expects to play Menlo School and hopes to make up for the previous loss.
“If we win regionals, we would probably play Menlo in state,” Ames said. “We lost to them in the finals of All-American, but we were missing one of our best players. Hopefully we can get there because we are out for revenge. We want to win all three this year and get a banner in the gym.”
Hardt said winning state would be the best way to end the season and is the team’s goal.
“[Winning state] would feel like the perfect ending to a great season with a lot of challenges,” Hardt said. “To get it all right in the end would be amazing. This team struggled early in the season but we came together at the right time. To get a rematch with Menlo, who are the power of the North, and to avenge our loss in the final of All-American would be great. We want the black banner at River Park so we are going to go for it.”
