Tropical Storm Kay cancels tennis match vs. Kaiser
With high winds and rains blowing into Southern California, once again the weather keeps the Yellowjackets from competition
With Kaiser canceling their non-league match due to weather, Coach Omar Menjivar sets practice matches for his team.
Colton, CA—With the Colton High tennis squad ready to play their first match in two weeks against Kaiser, once again the weather proved to be their toughest opponent. While the recent heatwave made it impossible to safely play outdoors, today’s break in the temperatures made room for a different problem: wind and rain.
“We messed up Mother Nature and now she’s acting up,” said head coach Omar Menjivar, laughing through the frustrations of missing two weeks of this new season.
Athletic Director Jacob Van Hofwegen feels awful for the tennis team. “We tried to hold off on canceling the game as long as we could,” he said. “In the end, as we were about to load the bus up, Kaiser’s [athletic director] called and said the wind and expected rain was too much of a concern.”
With the heat abating, a tropical storm just hit the shores of Baja California. Tropical storm Kay is bringing with it heavy winds and rains, leaving meteorologists to predict some flooding in parts of Southern California. While the impact on the Colton community is still slim, for the tennis team it was just another difficult reminder just how much their sport depends on the weather.
But the team remained undaunted. During the heatwave, they continued to practice indoors in the Mac Gym. And when scheduling conflicts pushed them back outside, they activated the lights on the tennis courts for evening practice after 6 p.m.
Menjivar shared, “In tennis, we have what’s known as the one-third rule. We want to have matches one-third of the time, and we’ve been missing out on those for the last two weeks. So what we did today was have some practice matches.”
Instead of boarding the bus to Kaiser High, the tennis team took to the courts and matched up against each other . . . at least until the rain started falling.
So, the team marched over to the Cafetorium to do a video session using clips from the recent U.S. Open.
“We have to be prepared for anything, and adjusting to the situation is important,” Menjivar said.
The weather looks to be shaping up next week. According to Van Hofwegen, “the weather should be normalizing next week and hopefully they can play the rest of the year uninterrupted.”
Recently, the CHS Publications Department experienced a major theft as over $20,000 in photography equipment was stolen from our studio over Spring Break. This included all cameras. Any amount you donate will help rebuild our program. Thank you!
Tyler Morales is a sophomore attending Colton High School. He writes for the Pepper Bough and involves himself around different activities at the school....
