Boys’ tennis: When his team needs him most, Kehrer is “solid gold”

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

You know it’s going good when your teammates have to tease you about losing a few points. That’s what it was like for Brentwood junior Walker Kehrer on Tuesday.

The Eagles’ top player swept his singles sets, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, to spark a 12-6 victory over Santa Monica that earned Brentwood a trip to the Southern Section-Toyota Division III title match next week.

Kehrer is used to putting ‘bagels’ on the Eagles’ scoreboard. He’s lost only three sets all season, to three of the best players in the Southland -- in nonleague matches to Harvard-Westlake’s Ryan Thacher and Campbell Hall’s Jenson Turner and to former doubles partner Kyle McMorrow in the semifinals of the Ojai tournament.

Kehrer’s team nickname is ‘solid gold,’ an appropriate moniker given that he has three golden sets already this spring (winning a set without losing a point). He doesn’t just beat up on weaker opponents, though. He thrives on coming through in the clutch, which he has done twice against Olympic League rival Crossroads.

In addition to leading his team back to the finals, Kehrer remains alive in the CIF individual tournament, where he has reached the round of 16.

‘You don’t like losing games, do you?’ Kehrer was asked Tuesday after making short work of Santa Monica’s No. 2 player Conrad McKinnon.

He replied: ‘No, I don’t.’

Short and to the point ... just like most of his matches.

-- Steve Galluzzo