SHP, Menlo reach semis

Sacred Heart Prep defeated Burlingame 7-0 and Menlo School beat Palo Alto 5-2 Monday in Central Coast Section team tennis matches.

No.3 seed Sacred Heart Prep will play No.2 seed Bellarmine at noon, and No.4 Menlo will take on No.1 Saratoga at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Courtside Club in Los Gatos.

The Gators defeated Mitty 7-0 in their opening-round match.

SHP's Billy McCall defeated Salar Naderi 6-1, 6-0 in No.4 singles.

Erik Blumenkranz faced off against Burlingame junior Taylor Chaparro in No.1 singles. Chaporro battled back from a 3-0 deficit to pull within 4-3 before losing 6-3, 6-2.

"I was familiar with Erik from USTA play, but I had never faced him before," Chaparro said. "I was definitely intimidated early in the match, playing a player as strong as Erik and a school with this type of program. After the beginning, I started pulling it together and really made him work out there. I was glad I could hang in there for a while. He's a tough player."

SHP juniors John Parsons and John Hansen defeated Nic Cui and Erik Chaney in No.1 doubles. Mario Paganini and Mark Westfield followed suit with a straight-set win for the Gators in No.2 doubles play. Kyle Scherba and Pedro Robinson rounded out the SHP doubles wins with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Eli Simon and Andrew Benson at No.3.

"Last year's team had the depth, but this year's group has some excellent freshman that have filled in nicely," SHP coach Losaline Mafileo said. "I just wanted my team to play well and compete today. Every team that's in the final eight can play."

In No.2 singles, Burlingame's Palmer Mendelson went three sets before losing to Jamie Hutter, the former No.1 player at SHP.

Burlingame finished the season 18-3. Chaparro, Mendelson, Steven Roston and Brendan Mok return.

For Menlo, PAL champion Daniel Hoffman won 6-1, 6-0 at No.2 singles, and Jamin Bell took No.1 singles 6-1, 6-1. Max Glenn, also a contributor on the Menlo basketball team, won at No.3, 6-2, 6-3.

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