CERES – After battling the best singles players in the Valley Oak League for the regular season, Manteca High’s Alex McAdams and Alex Barragan teamed up for a quality ride, outlasting some 20-plus doubles teams for the VOL doubles championship Thursday at Ceres High.
McAdams and Barragan ousted Oakdale’s Daniel Dunning and Blake Dunn for the VOL title, the second for Manteca at doubles in as many years. Last season, Yassen Aniss and Arnie Morales claimed the doubles crown before making an unexpected run to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Individual Tournament finals.
“A lot of the coaches felt they were the top seed; they played in the tournament together last year and lost to the eventual champions,” Manteca head coach Frank Fontana said. “They lost in the semifinals and I think this year they really wanted to take the whole tournament.
“And for McAdams, he’s a senior, it’s a perfect way for him to close his Manteca high tennis career.”
In the singles championship, Ceres standout Luis Ochoa made it back-to-back singles titles, taking out Sierra High’s Kevin Rausa 2-6, 2-6.
“Ochoa is a star player, but I don’t know if I can say he was too much for Kevin,” Sierra head coach Arabella Whitlock said. “It’s more the fact that he is a little more seasoned. Kevin came out of the gate with the confidence that he was going to play to the best of his ability, and I would have to say that I have never seen him play so well.
“He won that first game going in and he made some fantastic shots.”
As for McAdams, and Barragan, they had anything but a cruise-control trip through the VOL field, getting strong challenges in the semifinals and the championship rounds. McAdams and Barragan knocked off third-place finishers
Ricky Peloso and Sean Hilsher 6-1, 7-6 (4) in the semi’s, before closing the deal with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win for the title.
“At one point, the Oakdale team was ahead 3-2 in the third set and had all the momentum,” Fontana said.
“And then we just somehow picked up our energy level and turned the match around and went on a tear.
“They played really well together; their games complement each other perfectly.”
The champions rolled in their opening match 8-2, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Mike Tongpalad and Kevin Yamamoshi of Weston Ranch. They were coming off of the tournament’s biggest upset, after beating East Union’s No. 1 doubles team 8-5 to advance to the quarters.
“I was real surprised; they played some of their best tennis of the year to get past East Union’s No. 1 doubles, so that was huge for us” Weston Ranch head coach Jason Furtado said. “But Alex and Alex from Manteca High, I thought they were the best team out there. It was tough that we had to play them in the Quarters, but we’re ok with getting beat by the best team.
“We did what we could and played hard, our hats just go off to that team, they’re pretty outstanding.”
Peloso and Hilsher teamed up for one of the tournament’s brightest stories, defying the odds and outlasting a ton of other teams, including a season-long dominant pair of teammates.
“It was especially pleasing because Sean and Ricky have never played together,” East Union head coach Ron Bylow said. “They really put a nice string of victories together today.
“We knew they had a pretty good opportunity to do that, but the tough thing about today is it turned into survival of the fittest. To win you just had to play match after match.”
The Manteca and East Union doubles tandems, along with Rausa and Weston Ranch’s Satinder Singh (third place in singles) continue their seasons at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville next Thursday.
“Sections for me is all extra credit,” Fontana said. “It is all a bonus from here on. We have to compete against some very talented schools from the Sacramento area, so for me, the accomplishment is winning the VOL title.
“It is an unbelievably huge honor to do that.”
McAdams and Barragan ousted Oakdale’s Daniel Dunning and Blake Dunn for the VOL title, the second for Manteca at doubles in as many years. Last season, Yassen Aniss and Arnie Morales claimed the doubles crown before making an unexpected run to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Individual Tournament finals.
“A lot of the coaches felt they were the top seed; they played in the tournament together last year and lost to the eventual champions,” Manteca head coach Frank Fontana said. “They lost in the semifinals and I think this year they really wanted to take the whole tournament.
“And for McAdams, he’s a senior, it’s a perfect way for him to close his Manteca high tennis career.”
In the singles championship, Ceres standout Luis Ochoa made it back-to-back singles titles, taking out Sierra High’s Kevin Rausa 2-6, 2-6.
“Ochoa is a star player, but I don’t know if I can say he was too much for Kevin,” Sierra head coach Arabella Whitlock said. “It’s more the fact that he is a little more seasoned. Kevin came out of the gate with the confidence that he was going to play to the best of his ability, and I would have to say that I have never seen him play so well.
“He won that first game going in and he made some fantastic shots.”
As for McAdams, and Barragan, they had anything but a cruise-control trip through the VOL field, getting strong challenges in the semifinals and the championship rounds. McAdams and Barragan knocked off third-place finishers
Ricky Peloso and Sean Hilsher 6-1, 7-6 (4) in the semi’s, before closing the deal with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win for the title.
“At one point, the Oakdale team was ahead 3-2 in the third set and had all the momentum,” Fontana said.
“And then we just somehow picked up our energy level and turned the match around and went on a tear.
“They played really well together; their games complement each other perfectly.”
The champions rolled in their opening match 8-2, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Mike Tongpalad and Kevin Yamamoshi of Weston Ranch. They were coming off of the tournament’s biggest upset, after beating East Union’s No. 1 doubles team 8-5 to advance to the quarters.
“I was real surprised; they played some of their best tennis of the year to get past East Union’s No. 1 doubles, so that was huge for us” Weston Ranch head coach Jason Furtado said. “But Alex and Alex from Manteca High, I thought they were the best team out there. It was tough that we had to play them in the Quarters, but we’re ok with getting beat by the best team.
“We did what we could and played hard, our hats just go off to that team, they’re pretty outstanding.”
Peloso and Hilsher teamed up for one of the tournament’s brightest stories, defying the odds and outlasting a ton of other teams, including a season-long dominant pair of teammates.
“It was especially pleasing because Sean and Ricky have never played together,” East Union head coach Ron Bylow said. “They really put a nice string of victories together today.
“We knew they had a pretty good opportunity to do that, but the tough thing about today is it turned into survival of the fittest. To win you just had to play match after match.”
The Manteca and East Union doubles tandems, along with Rausa and Weston Ranch’s Satinder Singh (third place in singles) continue their seasons at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville next Thursday.
“Sections for me is all extra credit,” Fontana said. “It is all a bonus from here on. We have to compete against some very talented schools from the Sacramento area, so for me, the accomplishment is winning the VOL title.
“It is an unbelievably huge honor to do that.”
— Jagada Chambers
