Photo Gallery: Arroyo 10, Arlington 8

RIVERSIDE - Down eight sets to four, Riverside Arlington charged back to within a set but the Lions won only one of their last three in losing 10-8 to second-seeded El Monte Arroyo in a CIF Division 5 semifinal match on Tuesday.

Senior Jharen Gines, Arlington's No. 1 player, lost his first set in team play this season, falling 6-2 to Arroyo No. 1 Sam Ho. Gines had won 67 consecutive sets this season for the Lions (20-1), who were playing in the first CIF boys tennis semifinal in school history.

"I was playing bad. I think I had an off day," said Gines, whose only other loss this season came in the third round of the CIF-SS Individual Tournament.

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Stan Lim / The Press-Enterprise

Eliott Moreno (left) and Mason Biddle win two of three as the Lions get five doubles points.

Gines also struggled in his second set, falling behind 5-2 to Arroyo's No. 2 Johnny Lim. He was able to steady his nerves and his forehand after breaking Lim's serve and went on to win the next five games and salvage a 7-5 victory.

"That was impressive, for him to come back from down three games," said head coach Eric Biddle, now in his ninth season. "He didn't have his best stuff today."

Gines then defeated Arroyo No. 3 Thinh Tran 6-0 in the final set of his high school career.

"It's not always about playing your best," Gines said. "It's about playing for your team, and for me -- about playing for Arlington."

Junior Daniel Garcia won the only other singles set for Arlington, the Inland Valley League champion.

The Lions won the majority of their points in doubles play, with the No. 1 team of Eliott Moreno and Mason Biddle, and the No. 3 team of Steven Gomez and Ramon Soto both winning two sets. The No. 2 team of Andrew Pena and Adrian Huape won once.

"This was the first time we were down all season so we really had to fight back," Biddle said. "We just didn't quite get it over the top."

The Arlington boys fell short of matching the girls team, which earlier this year became the first Riverside County team to win a CIF tennis title in 30 years.