2010 MANTECA BULLETIN ALL-AREA BOYS/COED TENNIS TEAM
• Alex Barragan, Manteca junior: The Buffaloes, anchored by the two Alexes, claimed their third Valley Oak League title in four years. Alex Barragan and Alex McAdams were rock solid as interchangeable No. 1 singles players, and together they captured the league doubles championship. Barragan could challenge VOL runner-up and Bulletin Player of the Year Kevin Rausa for the league title next year.
• Sean Hilscher, East Union senior: Second-year player made up for lack of experience with one of the most powerful forehand shots in the VOL. A singles player all season, he and teammate Ricky Peloso left their mark in the league doubles tournament with a third-place finish and a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Tournament berth.
• Alex McAdams, Manteca senior: Like Barragan, McAdams was unable to get past the second round of the VOL Singles Tournament. In doubles, they became the second straight Manteca team to win a league title, and they battled eventual finalists Andrew and Austin Hall of Oak Ridge tough in the first round of the section tournament.
• Ricky Peloso, East Union junior: Unseeded in the VOL Singles Tournament, Peloso upset No. 8 Barragan in the second round. Teamed up with Hilscher for the doubles tourney and provided the big hitter a good complement with his quickness. They are the first Lancers to qualify for the SJS Tournament since 2004.
• Satinder Singh, Weston Ranch senior: Made school history by being the first tennis player to advance to the SJS Tournament. Singh lost to Rausa in the semifinals before defeating Chris Sanchez of Sonora for third place and the section berth.
• Katie den Dulk, Ripon Christian; Chris Kem, Ripon; Nick Mendonca, Josiah Neeley, Ripon Christian; Ripon; Landon Tillema, Ripon Christian; Nick Wehri, Ripon Christian.
The best of the rest in 2010 was Sierra’s Kevin Rausa.
But the door will be wide open for Rausa with Ochoa now graduated and the reigning VOL team co-champion Ceres Bulldogs moving into the Western Athletic Conference next year.
He is naturally the favorite going into his senior campaign. Nothing is a given, but the 2011 singles title is his for the taking.
“I just got to want it more, work harder and mature,” Rausa said.
The Bulletin’s All-Area Boys Tennis Player of the Year dominated almost every match he was in during league play except for the three against Ochoa, who is heading to JUCO tennis powerhouse Fresno City College after a 33-1 his senior year.
In their final meeting, Ochoa coasted 6-2, 6-2 in the VOL Singles Tournament finals.
“My goal was just to give Luis a challenge, maybe beat him,” Rausa said. “He’s just a great player. He has a good all-around game. He was unstoppable — like Superman.”
Rausa ended up faring better than his chief league rival in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Singles Tournament in Roseville.
Ochoa had a tough draw and was eliminated in the first round. Rausa, meanwhile, was the only section qualifier out of the VOL, be it in singles or doubles, to win at least one match.
The unseeded Rausa defeated Vanden’s Joseph Yates 6-4, 6-3 but was routed 0-6, 0-6 by No. 2 Tanner Schmute of tennis juggernaut Oak Ridge.
The more seasoned players from the Sacramento area have long ruled tennis in the section, so for Rausa to pick up at least one victory was something he could hang his hat on.
The experience of playing in the section playoffs was an eye-opener for Rausa, who is now more motivated because of it. He is currently fine-tuning his skills by competing in a summer league in Modesto.
“It’s just a different world,” Rausa said of playing against some of the best from up north. “It seems like they’ve been playing tennis their entire lives, and I started playing after the seventh grade. But I was proud with what I accomplished.”
