On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, cries of enthusiasm echoed through the San Pablo courts as the Berkeley High School boys tennis squad battled late into their final deciding sets against bitter school rivals: Bishop O’Dowd High School.
After an even start to the day with the first round of sets being handed out four to BHS and three to O’Dowd, Berkeley ultimately fell to O’Dowd following a dominant second and tiebreaker round of matches resulting in the final score of 5-2 in O’dowd’s favor.
The BHS team kicked off their matches on the right foot, commanding the lead in four of the seven of their respective matches following their first sets. However, O’Dowd quickly answered right back, crushing Berkeley’s momentum with six out of seven second set victories. At the end of the second round, O’Dowd gained the lead with final wins in three of the matches. From then on, there was no margin of error for BHS as their last matches came down to tiebreakers.
“I think a lot of it is stress that went into it,” Otter Carychao, BHS junior and doubles match winner on the day, said. “You feel like you have it in the bag, so you kind of let your guard down a little bit, and then once it becomes evident that you might lose, you tighten up, and then it’s over before you know it,” Carychao said.
Despite the loss, Berkeley closed out the day with two match victories. After falling behind in the first set, BHS senior Cole Geurtsen climbed his way back from the deficit, commanding the next two sets with 5-7 and 3-10 wins. “I had to push myself to come back against this guy with some very long points. I had to just get in front and once I was in the tiebreak I just took it point by point and had to will him out of it,” Geurtsen said.
Entering the fixture, Berkeley stood out as prominent underdogs coming off a previous season in which O’dowd dominated their two matches against them on the year. However, this season the squad was looking different, with a lineup that consists of mainly freshmen and underclassmen.
After attending a University of California Berkeley tennis match as a group two days prior, the squad headed into their performance looking to translate the way in which the collegiate Berkeley team supported and motivated one another, “We really had that camaraderie. After everyone’s game we went to the courts that were still playing. You got to really work with your teammates. Hype them up and say like ‘you got it’ and ‘on to the next one’,” Simon Kozuszek, BHS tennis player and sophomore, said.
Despite the loss, the team is looking hopeful for the growth and success to come for the young and promising roster. Supported by their rising talents and experienced upperclassmen, Berkeley is aiming to close out the final few games of the year with three straight victories and a ticket to North Coast Section playoffs.
Hopeful for what’s to come, Carychao added, “We’ve come a long way, and in future years we’ll only get better as they (the underclassmen) age, and the O’Dowd match emulated that as we fought to the last man and scored pretty solidly against one of the toughest teams.”
For Norcal high school tennis scoring, each school plays against one another in seven different matches: four singles and three doubles matches. The winner on the day is determined by the school with the majority of match wins, with each consisting of a best-of-three set series. To win a set you must win six games (by a margin of at least two) with each game being decided by a race to four points.