MIDDLETOWN — It came down to the final match and Middletown High School”s Tyler Madsen and Chase Mannisto rallied to beat Clear Lake”s Hayden Gilbert and Humberto Perez in No. 1 doubles on Tuesday as the Mustangs pulled out a 3-2 win in the Coastal Mountain Conference finale for both of these tennis teams at Middletown.
The victory locks up second place in the CMC standings for the Mustangs, whose only two losses came to undefeated conference champion Kelseyville.
Madsen-Mannisto dropped the first set to Gilbert-Perez and trailed 4-3 in the second set before pulling out a 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 victory.
“They won the final nine games,” Middletown coach Marc Morita said. “It was crazy, like all of a sudden they figured out how to play tennis. They”re both seniors, so it was a great way for them to end the season.”
The two teams split the first four matches. Clear Lake posted victories in second singles as Nate Seacrest beat Jeanine Zolczynski 6-3, 6-2, and in third singles as Tony Valdez defeated Tasha Gibbs 6-1, 6-4.
Middletown”s Miriam Lane beat KC White 6-3, 6-0 in first singles, and the Middletown first doubles team of Will Phelps and Gerry Espinoza were 6-1, 6-3 winners over Darcy McCarrick and Claire Mansell.
“My kids played a great match,” Clear Lake coach Rik Hayes.
Players from both teams will participate in the CMC Championships on Monday and Tuesday at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.
