Eggman, Panthers rout Scots, advance to 2nd round

His teammates jokingly call him the Exeggutor.

Perhaps it’s the name — Porterville’s No. 1 singles player Jeremy Eggman — but the Pokemon moniker is just as suitable to his workman-like ability to wear down his opponent and execute down the stretch.

Eggman hung on for a 5-7, 6-2, 10-5 victory over Highland’s No. 1 Germain Dillard and the third-seeded Panthers pounded the sixth-seeded Scots, 8-1, in the opening round of Division III playoffs.

Eggman’s win clinched the fifth point that shot the Scots’ chances, but Porterville coach Pat McCusker felt No. 5 singles Raul Mejia’s victory was equally important, creating a 4-2 advantage rather than allowing a 3-3 tie.

“Raul came through with a huge match here,” McCusker said. “He came back and that was really big at the moment and then (Jeremy) came in and sealed the deal.”

Mejia started off slow with a 2-6 loss in the first set, but bounced back with a 6-2 second and a 10-7 decision in the super breaker.

“It was one of his best matches,” McCusker said of Mejia. “He started playing with the force. He essentially stopped thinking so much and just started playing.”

Still, Mejia’s win did little to take the pressure off of Eggman, who was surprised in the first set by the hard-hitting Dillard.

“That was the boxer versus the striker,” McCusker said of the two No. 1s’ playing styles. “Germain was making the shots and he was on in the first set. Then he just kind of stumbled.”

Eggman admitted Dillard kept him on his heels by coming out swinging.

“At first, I had to keep back because his shots were deep in the corners,” Eggman said. “He’s a really good player.”

A note of coincidence: the Pokemon character Exeggutor relies on hypnosis to defeat its enemies. After watching Eggman dismantle Dillard in the final set and super breaker, it became clear that Eggman caused his opponent to crack. Dillard began throwing his racket, muttering to himself and tossing his gear across the court.

“I think in that second set, he lost his temper,” Eggman said. “There’s skill and there’s the mental part in tennis. Both are important.”

The senior’s latest victory kept his singles record intact — a perfect 13-0 through league and the playoffs.

“Jeremy has gotten better as the season progressed,” McCusker said. “He’s a good athlete, moves well, very quick. He’s very cool and gets them to crack at the end of the set. You can just see it happening.”

Ironically, Eggman once had trouble keeping level-headed himself, though.

“I had to learn how to stay cool; I used to throw it all into my serve when I got down on myself,” Eggman said. “I wouldn’t focus on where I was hitting it; I’d just hit it hard.”

That was two years ago. But Wednesday afternoon, Eggman remained cool and quickly realized that Dillard couldn’t handle his drop shots. Before long, Dillard was double-faulting into the net — an unusual characteristic of his according to his coach.

“Those double faults hurt him,” Highland coach Charles Anderson said. “That was the first time he double faulted all night in the tiebreaker. Germain’s very emotional — just don’t tell him that.”

When Eggman struck a forehand to the left side for the final point, Dillard dropped to the ground as Eggman crossed around the net to calmly shake hands.

“It’s definitely a tactic,” Eggman said. “That’s one of the things I focus on --— getting them to crack.”

Just like an egg.

Porterville’s No. 2 CJ Cobarruvias faced off against his friend, Derek Chan and easily took him apart, 6-0, 6-1.

The Panthers’ Andrew Chung handled Aaron Hernandez 6-4, 6-3, while Vicente Felix earned another point with his 6-0, 6-2 decision over the Scots’ Fabian Robles.

Porterville’s lone singles loss came in a tight, 6-7, 5-7 battle between the Panthers’ Luis Suarez and Jordan Wills.

“The key for us was to try and win two singles matches and make these doubles mean a little more,” said Anderson, whose team was ousted by Porterville in last year’s postseason as well.

The Panthers’ No. 1 doubles combo of Suarez and Adrian Vidrio beat Chan and Hernandez, 8-4. Roger Moreno and Lupe Felix teamed up to take out Wills and Jonathan Spooner, 8-5.

Chai Yang and James Song earned the Panthers’ final point with an 8-2 throttling over Justin Arvizu and Shawn Collins.

Porterville (17-7) next faces No. 2 Tehachapi in the second round of postseason play on Friday, at Tehachapi.