Colton, CA—The Colton Yellowjacket men’s tennis team started their 2023-24 preseason off on Tuesday, Feb. 13, showing notable improvement against the higher ranked Grand Terrace Titans, losing 6 sets to 12.
This year we introduced six new players: Andrew Ibarra, Ivan Acosta, Daniel Garcia, Yulior Zamora, Nicholas Valtierra, and Alex Ponce. Unlike last year, where it took most of the season to field a full roster, now men’s tennis has the strength it needs to push for the Skyline league championship.
The doubles teams consisting of Nicholas Valtierra/Andrew Ibarra, Carlos Martinez/Yulior Zamora, and Chris Lopez/ Alex Ponce showed considerable strength against Grand Terrace, despite being new to the game of tennis. Ibarra/Valtierra won 6-4 in their first ever match.
On the singles side, Daniel Garcia struggled against Grand Terrace’s Luke Vong, who has been league champion for two years. But Vong’s victory was not easy. In his first game ever, Garcia nearly beat Grand Terrace’s champ, losing 4-6. After that loss, Garcia came back, beating his next two opponents 6-2 and 6-0. Garcia’s lightning fast serves made proved formidable for Grand Terrace’s players.
Ivan Acosta also gave Grand Terrace quite a challenge. Despite only practicing for three months, he got his first win, defeating the Titan’s #3 ranked single 6-2.
This preseason match allowed head coach Omar Menjivar to test the waters and see how these newly introduced players managed their first ever matches. Christopher Lopez summed up the experience, “I was excited for my match and even though we lost, I’m looking forward to the rest of the season as a team.”
With one match under their belts, the men’s tennis team has already grown significantly, and this match is a small step towards this season’s goal of winning the title.
Their next match is this Thursday, Feb. 15 at Grand Terrace High School. Game time is 3:00 p.m.