Kayson Neduvakktu wasn't moping over what he felt was a winnable match.
Manteca High's fourth-year senior and No. 1 player dropped a 4-6, 6-0, 2-10 decision to Matthew Trinidad of East Union on Tuesday.
“I should have had the momentum going into the tiebreaker but I just didn't have it today,” Neduvakktu said. “I'm looking forward to the rest of the season,
The Valley Oak League held its season-opening matches for boys golf and girls tennis on Tuesday, marking the first time in 11 months that a California Interscholastic Federation-sanctioned event has taken place in the Manteca area since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cross country starts today and swimming on Friday. On Thursday, Lathrop and the Western Athletic Conference begin their girls golf campaign.
The 2020 boys tennis season along with other traditional spring sports were cut short. Manteca's had its final match on March 11, but the Buffaloes can still call themselves reigning 2019 Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV champions.
League titles and Section playoffs are not at stake in this truncated eight-week season, however. Manteca got the better of its rival on Tuesday by a 7-2 count, but that mattered little to either team.
“I guess you can say this was a win for everyone,” Manteca coach Frank Fontana said, later admitting he did not get the players together for physical conditioning because he did not think there would be a season.
“It's nice to see athletes playing and competing at this time,” East Union coach Rick Mitchell said. “We need more of this in our communities.”
Both teams went into the match with less than a week's worth of practice, and recent rainstorms further limited their time on the court.
“It has been interesting, to say the least,” East Union senior Daniel Ngo said. “We have a bunch of freshmen this year, so having to train them for just one week and then getting straight into a match is a little challenging.
“But it's been good just in terms of getting back together after being online and at home for months on end. This has been a nice change of pace. Being out here exercising again has been pretty good.”
Ngo accounted for the Lancers' other point, as he held off Emiliano Hurtado 7-5, 6-3 in the No. 3 singles match. East Union forfeited three matches.
Also in singles play: Ravpreet Grewal defeated Kelton D'Souza 6-0, 6-1; Kaven Neduvakktu swept Matthew Mendoza 6-2, 6-1; and Ivan Barajas downed Tristan Santos 6-1, 6-1. The Manteca tandem of Luke Sampson and Alex Chatham beat Landon Wolfe and Benjamin Potter 6-1, 6-1 in the lone doubles match.
Both teams return to action Thursday, with Manteca visiting Central Catholic and East Union heading to Weston Ranch. For Kayson Neduvakktu, atoning for the season-opening defeat is not the objective.
“I am very grateful to be out here,” he said. “I love my coach and I love hearing his voice again. Just getting back into the rhythm of eveyrthing and being out here is a great experience. This being my last year, I'm trying to get everything I can out of it.”
They were swept in their opener, but this group of Timberwolves got to play their first match on their own courts on campus for the first time.
Sierra had been hosting matches at the Manteca Regional Tennis Center for much of the last decade. David Martin Jr. was the most competitive of the bunch, dropping a 3-6, 4-6 match to Nolan Croasdale 3-6, 4-6 at No. 3 singles. Evan Corsiglia blanked Quentin Banks 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 1 mathcup, and No. 2 Ryan Wagoner prevailed 6-1, 6-3 over Jason Machado.
GIRLS GOLF
Escalon 163, Ripon Christian 236
Allison Mendes (53), Natalie Mendes (55), Ruth Visser (67) and Katie Van Unen (61) provided scoring for short-handed Ripon Christian at Jack Tone Golf Course. Escalon's Ella Adams carded the low score at 8-over-par 39.
