Coming into the new season, the boys’ tennis team’s expectations were to give their all in their games and to improve.
The team improved on last year’s 4-8 record to finish at 5-5 this year. Some of their losses were close matches, like against defending league champs Oakwood, coming up short (4-3). “I think our team is better than what our record says, and we definitely should’ve won all those games but things happen,” senior Francisco Estrada said.
On senior night, they closed out the last home game of the season with a win against Rancho San Juan. “It was really nice getting the win today in our last home game, and well we couldn’t ask for more,” Estrada said. “We’re ending strong, with this game won we’re 2-0 (past two games), and we’re heading in the right direction” Coach Santa Cruz said.
On April 23rd, the team had their first round matches in the PCAL finals. SIngle matches consisted of Jovany Serna, Kayden Posecion, and Joseph Aguilar. Unfortunately, they lost in the first round. “It sucks I lost my match, but all I can do is reflect off this loss, just like how I reflected on wins and progress from there” said Serna, a junior. “We didn’t get the outcomes we hoped for, but we didn’t get beat down in those games, they were all close and with this young team we have, our future is good,” Santa Cruz said.
For the doubles matches, only seniors Frankie Estrada and Isaiah Jacinto won their first match 2-0 (6-4, 6-2), which moved them into the semi-finals. The next day, they lost 2-0 against Gonzales, bringing their season to an end. They finished as the 4th best doubles team in all three leagues in PCAL. “Me and Isaiah are happy with how this season ended, and I think that’s all that matters,” Estrada said.
“I feel proud of my team’s performance, going 5-5 is a solid record and the progress made throughout the season, the fun memories created with my teammates was all a part of the experience!” said Serna.
Even though the team came up short from their goals and didn’t make CCS, Coach Santa Cruz was still happy and looking forward to next year, “We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but we ended the season strong, winning our last 3 games,” he said. “They know I’m proud of them, and I always reward them for their efforts and like after games we do stuff together not as a team but as a family.”
