Grand Terrace, CA—The Colton Yellowjacket men’s tennis team again matched up with rival Grand Terrace on Thursday, Feb. 15 for the second consecutive game. Even with a three set lead after Grand Terrace’s #3 ranked single forfeited, our men’s tennis team dropped the match 7 sets to 11.

The highlight of the day revolved around Colton’s #1 single Daniel Garcia, who lost to the reigning Skyline League Champion Luke Vong on a technicality. Garcia defeated Vong 6-3 during a deciding point on deuce, but because of his inexperience, he continued playing when he didn’t need to, which opened the door for Vong to win 7-5.

Before his victory was stripped, it surely sent shockwaves through the division. Garcia broke through Vong’s powerful serve in his second game ever. This speaks volumes about his potential for the 2023-24 season.

About the technicality, all head coach Omar Menjivar would say is “It’s all a learning experience.”

Daniel Garcia took his stolen victory in stride. “My limits are always tested, but with my dedication, I see no limits.”

While the single lineup remained the same for this match, coach Menjivar made a few tweaks to the doubles lineup that had the Yellowjackets slowly gelling as a team.

The doubles teams consisted of #1 Nicholas Valtierra/Carlos Martinez, #2 Christopher Lopez/Andrew Ibarra, and #3 Xavier Rocha/Alex Ponce. Yulior Zamora did not play due to an injury sustained in the previous match.

Their next match is Tuesday, Feb. 20 at Arroyo Valley. Game time is 3:00 PM.