Following a week in which rain delay resulted in the cancellation of two matches, Orestimba High School’s tennis team arrived back on their tennis courts under the clear skies.

As the host, the Warriors split their matchups against Hughson High School and Ripon Christian last week.

Against Ripon Christian, Orestimba couldn’t keep up in both singles and doubles matches, resulting in an 8-1 loss.

First-year head coach Nolan Osborn praised Ripon Christian’s play and roster, adding that they are one of the best teams in the Trans Valley League (TVL).

“Ripon Christian is a solid team, I knew that coming in. We had them last year in the [Southern] League. Same thing, solid all-around,” Osborn said. 

The Warriors’ sole point came off of the second girls' doubles match win from Isabella Pacheco and Fernanda Alvarado, 6-0, 6-3. The first doubles match saw Ripon Christian’s Brittany Dugo and Natalie Thompson winning in two sets, 7-5, 6-3.

Ripon Christian’s momentum carried into the boys’ doubles matches. Peter Vander Meulen and Derek Meester won their doubles match, 7-5, 6-0. Similarly, Emmitt Van Laar and Braden Schaapman dominated both sets in their doubles match, 6-3, 6-4.

Ripon Christian’s Drew Meester and Alton Mensonides won their matches in the boys’ singles. Drew dominated in both of his sets against Orestimba’s Chris Alvarado, 6-0, 6-0. Following Drew was Mensonides winning his matchup against Colton Reeves, 6-1, 6-1.

More or less was the same in the girls’ singles for Ripon Christian’s Tatum Smoke and Kora Harris. Smoke won both of her sets against Mirella Fregoso, 6-2, 6-1. In her matchup against Sofiah Ramirez, Harris won 7-6, 6-1.

Lastly, Christian Runnels and Annika Jung won the mixed doubles match, 6-4, 7-5. 

72 hours before Friday’s match, Orestimba had come off a narrow 5-4 win against Hughson. Both teams’ competitive nature was highlighted throughout the match as both split their singles and doubles matches.

Hughson swept their boys’ singles matches thanks to dominant performances from Caleb Rytting and Aiden Ramos. Rytting won both of his sets against Chris Alvarado, 6-1, 6-0. Ramos followed up Rytting by winning his matchup against Colton Reeves, 6-2, 6-4.

Orestimba, in response, bounced with Ramirez and Fregoso winning in both of the girls’ singles matches. Ramirez won her singles matchup against Hughson’s Mia Mateo, 6-3, 6-1.

In what was the closest match throughout Tuesday’s contest, Fregoso narrowly escaped by winning both her tiebreaker matches against Aubrey Lockwood. Following a 6-6 tie, Fregoso won her tiebreaker, 7-5, to win the opening set, 7-6. The following set was more of the same with another 6-6 tie, Fregoso once again prevailed with a 7-4 win in the tiebreaker to win the match, 7-6.

While this girls’ singles match was highlighted by both players’ performances, it was one of the first matches that began on Tuesday and it was the last singles match that finished as it started when the skies were clear and ended with the sun beginning to set.

Fregoso, who won both sets, had nothing but praise for Lockwood, adding that this was the most intense singles match that she had played in her three seasons with the program.

“She’s (Lockwood) very consistent … I would hit her [with] any ball and she would get [towards] any ball,” Fregoso said. “She was very sweet but she played really good, she is a really good player.”

Later into doubles, Orestimba and Hughson each won their matches in the boys’ and girls’ doubles.

Orestimba’s Jose Rodriguez and Ernesto Chavez won both of their sets in doubles against Kayden Perez and Matthew Ruelas, 6-1, 6-1. Hughson later bounced back as Inel Harrison and Julian Whiteside won their matchup against Kevin Rodriguez and Nabiel Ali, 6-3, 7-5.

After winning the first set in their matchup against Hughson’s Emma Dubel and Julie Robles, Orestimba’s Mallory Solano and Giselle Marquez lost the following set, 6-1, setting up a final set to play. The Orestimba duo won the final set with a dominant 6-1 win.

Afterward, Hughson’s Melissa Walls and Elena Alvarado won their match against Alejandro Franco and Fernanda Alvarado, 6-1, 6-0. At this point, both teams were tied 4-4.

The difference-maker in Tuesday’s match would be the mixed doubles match as Orestimba’s Ashlynn Bell and Aaron Gallardo won both sets, 6-2, 6-2, giving them a 5-4 win.

With the team largely consisting of new players, Osborn said that there are going to be growing pains that come with working with players who may have started playing tennis.

“Coming into these tough matches, I know we might not win. We’re underdogs,” Osborn said. “The biggest thing is making adjustments, figure out what you did wrong, you work on it and you fix it.”

Orestimba will look to bounce as they travel to Escalon High School on Tuesday. The match will begin at 3:30 p.m.

Navtej Hundal is a freelance journalist in Stanislaus County.