SUNSET BOYS: Centennial’s Novak, Lee refocus to win doubles final

When the Centennial tandem finally faced a bit of adversity on Monday, they responded swiftly and effectively.

Novak and Lee overcame a bit of a shaky start to down Palo Verde’s Wesley Mann and Conor Safbom, 6-4, 6-2 in the Sunset boys doubles final at Darling Tennis Center.

“We had a little bit of a rough time, but we stayed strong,” Novak said. “We weren’t making as many returns.”

It didn’t take long for the Bulldog team to refocus.

Novak and Lee surrendered only four games in the first four rounds of the tournament, two of those coming earlier Monday when they downed Palo Verde’s Bailey Swainston and Zack Surmacz, 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.

Mann and Safbom had dropped only 11 total games in four matches entering the final.

“We served well throughout the tournament,” Lee said. “We played well at the net, and we just kept calm.”

The two spent much of the season playing singles for Centennial, but have meshed well in doubles.
They’ll try to carry that over into the weekend as both teams qualified for the state tournament.

“We know the feeling of winning now and what to do even if we’re not playing our best,” Lee said. “We know how to pull out a victory.”

Swainston and Surmacz took third and will face Coronado’s Jack Vance and Jamie Vance in a state-play in at 8 a.m. today.

The Panthers also will participate in the team competition at state and will do so with a little extra confidence after having both Sunset boys singles finalists.

Palo Verde junior Trevor Johnson downed teammate Ozzy Abraham, 6-3, 6-2 in the singles final.

“I was down a break, and I just figured it out,” Johnson said. “I knew what I needed to do to play better, and I just picked it up.”

Johnson didn’t play high school tennis last year, but joined the Panthers this season. He, Abraham and Rhett Bossung formed Palo Verde’s starting singles lineup in the team regional final.

The three have gone against each other countless times in practice and in tournaments.

“It’s different every time,” Johnson said. “You’re both playing hard and you’re playing with a flying object.”

Abraham is playing singles after being a part of state championship doubles teams the last two seasons.

Johnson and Abraham both advance to the state singles tourney. Bossung will meet Coronado’s Sam Cohen at 8 a.m. Tuesday for the final state bid.

“It’s good to have the team aspect, too,” Johnson said. “It helps the confidence, but I also know that when I play, I work harder than the guy on the other side of the net.”