LAKEPORT >> It was a bad day all around for the Clear Lake High School tennis team on Wednesday afternoon in Lakeport. Not only did the Cardinals fall 5-0 to the visiting Saints, the heavy favorite to win this year’s Coastal Mountain Conference championship, but they lost one of their best players in the process.
Scotty Mather sustained an injury while falling to the court during a second doubles match, according to coach Rik Hayes.
Mather and partner Chris Vincent were trailing 3-2 in the first set against St. Helena’s Easton Ellis and Lucas Lyons when the injury occurred.
“He reached out on a backhand, slipped on the court and tried to catch himself with his left hand,” Hayes said. “It was either the wrist or the arm.”
Another Clear Lake player, Bailey Elkington in second singles, retired with an ankle injury after dropping the first set 6-0 to Natalie Stenton.
So dominant were the Saints that the Cardinals (0-3 conference, 0-4 overall) didn’t win a single game in three singles matches. Rory Winters beat Ethan Jones 6-0, 6-0 in first singles while Sophia Sakopoulos defeated Lexi Burke 6-0, 6-0 in third singles.
In first doubles, St. Helena’s Andrew Raunegger and Drew Davis beat Clear Lake’s Liam Stahl and Arturo Olmedo 6-1, 6-4.
The Clear Lake-St. Helena match was moved up a day because several Clear Lake players had a band commitment.
Clear Lake travels to St. Helena next Wednesday.
