Warriors win first two matches of tennis season

Last year Rancho Buena Vista High School’s boys’ tennis team hosted Fallbrook High School and defeated the Warriors by a 12-6 score. This year Fallbrook’s season opener was at home, Feb. 26, against Rancho Buena Vista, and Fallbrook began the season with a 14-4 victory over the Longhorns.

“RBV is a D-I team,” Fallbrook coach Bill Lenaway said.

Playoff divisions are based on rankings which use a weighted average based on win-loss record, strength of schedule, and playoff wins over the past three seasons. Fallbrook, whose season record last year was 6-8 including a 5-3 Valley League mark which shared second place in the final league standings, is in Division III for playoff purposes.

The 2018 Warriors had only two seniors. This year 12 players are on Fallbrook’s roster including four freshmen. The team’s primary singles players are senior Richard Herrera, senior Noah Potraz and sophomore Ethan Lenaway. Bill Lenaway expects the Warriors’ No. 1 doubles team for the season to be junior Anthony Vazquez and sophomore Chase Che.

Fallbrook’s first road match of 2019 was also a Warriors’ triumph; the team traveled to Orange Glen for a Feb. 28 competition and prevailed by a 16-2 score.

A 12-6 loss March 5 at Mission Hills was Fallbrook’s first defeat of the season.

“I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed,” Bill Lenaway said. “I just don't feel that as the match progressed; we played to the best of our ability.”

Lenaway said he hopes that it will be a lesson learned for his players. Although pre-league matches are a factor in the power rankings which determine playoff selection and seeding, those competitions also allow coaches to determine the optimal combination of singles players and doubles teams and provide the players with experience.

February and March storms have reduced that experience for Fallbrook. Although a planned March 6 home match was the first of the season which needed to be rescheduled due to a rainout, rain also occurred on other school days.

“We lost a lot of practices,” Lenaway said.

Unless weather dictates otherwise Fallbrook’s first Valley League match of 2019 will take place March 19 at San Pasqual High School and the Warriors’ first home match will be March 26 against Escondido.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].