I-A BOYS: The Meadows’ Roth ends long wait with singles crown

Ten years is a long time to wait.

The clock finally stopped for Evan Roth on Monday.

The Meadows senior made the most of his last chance, claiming the Division I-A Southern Region boys singles title when teammate Mario Gamboa retired with an injury in the second set of the championship match.

“It feels like the last 10 years that I’ve put into tennis are finally all coming together,” said Roth. “It’s a good feeling. I’m still working hard, and I’m still hungry.”

Roth won five matches to earn the title. He lost a total of seven games, six of those coming in the final, which he led 7-5, 3-1 before Gamboa was forced to stop.

“I took advantage of a lot of opportunities,” Roth said. “I was very aggressive throughout the tournament, coming to the net a lot, which was something I’ve been practicing. My serve was very dependable.”

The win was slightly bittersweet, though.

“I didn’t want to win by a default, especially against my own teammate,” Roth said. “I pulled the one guy in the draw I didn’t want to play in the final.”

Roth and Gamboa both advance to the state singles tournament and will try to lead the Mustangs to a team title in Reno, as well.

“That would be pretty sweet,” Roth said. “Hopefully as a team, we can be successful. I honestly want the team ring more than I do the individual. The team win would mean more to me.”

To win as a team, the Mustangs likely will have to get through Southern Region champion Clark, which also heads to state with some confidence after advancing two teams to the region doubles final.

Deric Pang and Chaitanya Ingle showed little mercy in a 6-0, 6-1 win over teammates Mark McCrary and Caleb Chen.

“We’ve been working hard, so it feels like it has really paid off,” Ingle said.

Pang and Ingle lost only one game in the entire tournament — to their teammates in the final. By contrast, McCrary and Chen had to scrap their way to a 6-7(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(3) win over Western’s Braeden Smith and Steven Glad earlier Monday.

“We had good chemistry on the court,” Pang said.

All four semifinalists in both singles and doubles advance to the state tournament this week in Reno.

“It feels great that we can compete for a state championship in both,” Ingle said.