Heading into Thursday Moore League boys’ tennis championship, Long Beach Poly’s Darren Hall was very familiar with a younger teammate defeating the top-ranked senior.
Last season, Hall defeated his teammate Felippe Dacudao to win the Moore League singles final.
The senior found himself in a similar battle with junior teammate Arkin Verma after taking a 6-5 lead late in the first set, before dropping the set 7-6 (7-0).
“He had my body moving,” Hall said. “I felt like I was running from corner to corner the entrie time. He has one of those games that just runs you around. So, I knew I was going to have to chase down a lot of balls and run a lot especially at the end of the first set.”
High School Tennis: Moore League Boys Finals
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After taking the first set, Hall made the necessary adjustments and mounted the comeback to defeat Verma 6-7 (7-0), 6-3, 6-0 to take his second straight Moore League boys’ tennis title.
“The last few years whoever wins, doesn’t win the second one,” Hall said. “Last year I beat the champion and I didn’t want that to happen to me, especially with my face on the court.”
Hall’s reference is to a banner that hangs on the court that features a photo of the senior and the phrase “Moore League Champion.”
Poly’s Kim Phy took third place in singles after a Millikan player defaulted.
In the Moore League boys doubles final, Kim Phy and Franco Fratovich defeated Hall and Varkin 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 6-1.
Poly’s Carlo Reyes and Ryan Nguyen took third place in doubles after a Millikan player defaulted.
