GIRLS TENNIS: Tain Brings Home Singles League Title

After a season of perfection, Milpitas High junior girls tennis player Christi Tain’s dream of playing in the Central Coast Section playoffs came down to one final set.

The Trojans junior rose to the occasion.

Tain held off Lydia Dukic of Santa Clara High 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to capture the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division title on a sunny Wednesday afternoon at Homestead High in Cupertino.

Facing little trouble with the Bruins opponent during their previous bouts, the championship match in the El Camino tournament finals brought the best out in both players.

“She (Dukic) played really well,” Tain said. “It was really different from our other matches. This was the finals.”

Tain never lost a match all regular season for the league champion Milpitas girls tennis team, but dropped the first set of the finals, 6-4.

“It’s all about nerves,” Milpitas head coach Dong Pham said. “The nerves come in and that changes everything you do on the court. You have to relax and find a way to win.”

The first set jitters subsided in a hurry during the second set of the girls singles finals.

Tain won 6-2 in the second set, reeling back in her serves and forcing her opponent into a handful of hitting errors.

The slice-heavy attack that Tain used early in the match was curbed for some good ole’ fashioned hardball the rest of the way.

Accurate groundstrokes forced her opponent deep towards the service line. The change put the matches momentum back in the Trojans top singles star’s corner.

“I just tried to focus in and play my game,” Tain said. “This year I’m just more confident all around. She was really consistent today and made me work hard on every point.”

Ahead 5-2 in the third set, the early match nerves returned for a blip. The lapse allowed Dukic to rally for back-to-back games before Tain closed the door on the comeback for good.

Tain drove a shot deep into the corner. The return shot by her opponent sailed long to give Tain the 2011 El Camino singles league title.

As a sophomore, Tain won the 2010 El Camino Doubles Championship alongside Vivian Nguyen.

The duo won the CCS doubles title a few weeks later.

“CCS is definitely going to be tough,” Tain said. “I’m excited to be able to play in CCS. That’s what I was playing for.”

In doubles action, the No. 2 seeded Milpitas team of Shuyang Ye and Kristen Buchanon finished their day with a win in the third place match over a team from tournament host, Homestead High.

Ye and Buchanon finished the league tournament with a win, but left their head coach wanting a little more from the talented pair.

“They got down 3-0 and couldn’t make it back,” Coach Pham said about his doubles team’s loss in the semifinals that prevented the Trojans team from playing for the doubles league title. “Too many double faults. You can’t win by playing like that.”

Milpitas will move up to the De Anza division next fall. With all four top singles players back, the Trojans will have an experienced lineup to use against the sturdy competition they’ll face from schools like Palo Alto, Monta Vista and Saratoga High.

The CCS playoffs begin on Nov. 8.

The tournament seeding will take place this weekend with Milpitas High among the schools that will be selected to participate based on their 2011 El Camino league title.