BOYS' TENNIS: TAFT'S TCHAN, TWO GRANADA HILLS' DOUBLES TEAMS STILL ALIVE.

Byline: ERIK BOAL

Special to the Daily News

One of the area's top high school seniors walked off the tennis court for the final time in his career Thursday after losing to the player he called "the best in the City."

And that was before defending singles champion Eric Lee saw his stellar run at Granada Hills High end prematurely following a stunning loss to Carson's Romel Orpiano.

Taft of Woodland Hills' Justin Gold suffered a 6-2, 6-1 setback to sophomore teammate Josh Tchan in the quarterfinals of the City tournament at Balboa Sports Complex in Encino.

Less than 30 minutes later, Tchan found himself as the lone area player remaining in the singles draw -- joining a pair of Granada Hills doubles teams in the final four -- when Lee had his repeat bid halted with a 7-5, 7-6 (2) loss to Orpiano.

"Eric and I were even in high school tennis and I was looking forward to playing him again," said Tchan, who will face Carson's JR Sarmiento in Wednesday's semifinals at Balboa.

"I've played Romel a few times in USTAs and he's either really on or he's not. (Thursday) he was playing really well. Eric didn't do anything wrong, Romel was just really strong."

Tchan and Gold, who led Taft to its first City title since 1983, shared a handshake and an embrace at the net following match point. The scene was in sharp contrast to Lee throwing his racquet in anger before sitting on a bench with a blank stare on his face trying to recover from the shock of allowing the match's final seven points.

"I've always considered Josh as an older brother because he took me under his wing when I was a freshman," Tchan said. "I knew at some point I was going to have to play him and (Thursday) I was ready. It was very difficult to play him, so it was important for me to stay focused."

Gold, who played singles and doubles during Taft's run to the title, saw his run at an individual crown end in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.

"I couldn't be happier with my career. To win a City (team) title as a senior is an unbelievable thing," Gold said. "I would've loved to win this too, but if I'm going to lose, it might as well be to your teammate.

"This season has been amazing. If I could do it differently, I would've wanted to play him in the finals, but I still don't know if I could've beaten him. He's the best out here and he'll be around for the next two years."

Defending City doubles champions Vinnie Amor and Jeremy Choo defeated Granada Hills teammates Aaron Goodwein and Evan Kopel 6-2, 6-3 to set up a semifinal match with fellow Highlanders Zach Katz and Dominic Plata.

After relinquishing a 5-0 second-set lead, Katz and Plata rebounded to defeat Palisades' Jeremy Shore and Matt Goodman 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. North Hollywood's Dillon Klincke lost 6-1, 6-2 to Roosevelt's Sal Romero and teammate Kostya Omelyanchuk suffered a 6-0, 6-3 setback to Sarmiento.

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