Eagles place second in California Tennis Classic

The Eagles played in the California Tennis Classic in Fresno City College against school all around the Valley. The California Tennis Classic was a two-day tournament, March 3-4, in which the Eagles placed second in the first seed group.

With the team’s number one player out due to illness, the Eagles had a small lineup. March 3 was the seeding group, the Eagles played against Mt. Whitney, Orange Cove, and Golden Valley.

FC beat Mt. Whitney 4-2, Orange Cove 6-0 and lost to Golden Valley 3-3 in a tiebreaker. Golden Valley and Fresno Christian both battled hard throughout the match. Golden Valley eventually came on top with more games won than the Eagles.

Head coach Robert Foshee was very proud of their effort and their willingness to do their best.

“The tournament was a great chance for us to compete against other schools and it helped us to prepare for teams in our league,” Foshee said. “I wished we would’ve won our division, but getting second place was still very impressive. I’m proud of my players because they played schools that are twice or three times bigger than ours.”

On the second day of the event, FC was placed in the first seed group, due to a winning record. The Eagles started the day by playing against Hanford High School. That day the Eagles were even more vulnerable as the number three player on the team was not there to participate. That meant the team had to really count on the underclassmen to step up.

FC beat Hanford 4-2 in a tight match. FC jumped ahead as all three of the doubles teams won within 30 minutes. The second and third single both lost in a close match. Jaden Ventura, ‘18, played Hanford’s number one and won in a two and a half hour matchup.

FC was to face Ridgeview in the championship match. Ridgeview’s team was too much for the Eagles to handle as they beat FC, 5-1. The one win for the Eagles came from Ventura, who finished the tournament undefeated.

Senior Julian Castro was proud of the team’s performance during the entire tournament. He believes the team has a positive future looking forward to league play.

“We played very well throughout the whole thing,” Castro said. “I’m proud that we gave it our all each game no matter what the score was. I think that we are going to do very well this year based on what I saw, I think we have a great team.”

The Eagles will be playing their second league match against Fowler, March 7. Come out and support your boy’s tennis team.

To read another tennis article check out: FC boys tennis sport short: Coalinga.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @JohnMonke and via email John Monke.