The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Wilson senior Leo Bauch wasn’t going to let an injury slow him down at the Moore League Tennis Finals.
With his back and leg muscles tightening up on him, Bauch adjusted his game after dropping the first game to teammate Douglas Smith 6-4.
Bauch stormed back to tie the match, winning the second set 6-3 before completing the comeback to defeat Smith 10-8 in a thrilling tiebreaker.
“Even though my back and my legs didn’t feel great, it’s not the end,” Bauch said. “I just had to change my play style and power through. I had a lot of people watching me and supporting me, which is really great.”
It was an all-Wilson finals, and an all-Wilson podium. Wilson senior Luke Emigh completed the Bruin sweep defeating Millikan’s Eric Carranza 6-2, 6-0 in the third-place match as the Bruins took the top three spots.
In doubles action, Bauch and Emigh teamed up and took the doubles title defeating Poly’s Elijah Wong and Gabe Simms 6-3, 6-4.
“It feels pretty good,” Emigh said. “(Leo) has been my best friend on the team since freshman year. So, it’s been pretty sweet since day one – it’s been me and him. We’ve tried three times and we got it on the third.”
In the third-place doubles match, Wilson’s Daniel Gerstner and Filip Svrdlan defeated Poly’s Alex Fearing and Harrison Armis.
Wilson and the rest of the Moore League teams will now wait for their playoff fate when the CIF brackets are released on Saturday.
