The CIF Southern Section Division 3 boys tennis championship between Tesoro and Cate of Carpinteria couldn’t have been any closer.

The match finished in a 9-9 tie and had to be decided on the total number of points from every set.

After the coaches and CIF-SS officials counted each team’s point total numerous times to make sure there were no mistakes, Cate came out on top 79-78.

The match featured a bit of drama at the end, which didn’t affect the outcome of the match but it could have.

Tesoro had a point deducted for a racket abuse violation in a doubles set, but because the violation occurred after the final point, the point got deducted from a Titans doubles team during a set that was still being contested.

The Rams’ tandem of Will Vanica and Ethan Bloom wound up winning the set 6-3 over Ethan Huang and Aryan Nagpal.

Tesoro’s doubles team of Nico Cruz and Fardean Khajejmiraki won their three sets by scores of 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.

The Titans were making their first trip to a division final.

“I think this match says a lot about our team,” Titans coach Patrick Harnett said. “They fought the best they could to the last game.”

In the Division 5 final:

Segerstrom and Whittier finished in a 9-9 tie, forcing points to be counted to determine the winner. Whitter came out on top of the Jaguars, 83-69.

The Jaguars doubles team of Joseph Tram and Ben Tong won their sets by a combined score of 18-5, but the Cardinals came out on top by winning seven of nine singles sets.

In the Division 4 final:

Long Beach Wilson, the top-ranked team in the division, won every doubles set and three singles sets to defeat Brea Olinda 12-6.

Roman Meraz was a bright spot for the Wildcats, winning all three of his singles sets, 7-6, 6-0, 6-0.

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