Warriors return to on-campus tennis courts with win

A Fallbrook High School tennis match was played on the campus for the first time this century, and the Warriors defeated Tri-City Christian in the March 4 competition.

The match was also the first combined boys’ and girls’ tennis match in school history. The coronavirus shutdown compressed the three normal CIF seasons into two for 2020-2021, and boys’ and girls’ tennis were combined including mixed doubles sets for the first time in San Diego Section history.

“It went smoothly other than the fact that it got dark,” Fallbrook coach Bill Lenaway said. “The important thing is we are playing.”

Fallbrook obtained a 10-5 triumph over Tri-City Christian. Two of the sets were uncompleted, although the Warriors held a lead in both.

“We did OK. It’s going to be a learning process,” Lenaway said.

Girl’s tennis has been a fall sport ever since it became a CIF San Diego Section sport in 1974, and boys’ tennis has been a spring sport since the San Diego Section was founded in 1960. In a normal boys’ or girls’ season, three singles players from each school play sets against each of the other school’s singles players while three doubles tandems from each team face each of their doubles’ counterparts. One team point is given for each set won, and if each team wins nine sets the tiebreaker of games won is used to determine the team winner. This season's format consists of three boys’ singles sets, three girls’ singles sets, three boys’ doubles sets, three girls’ doubles sets, and five mixed doubles sets.

“The new format is interesting. I'm still working my way to set my lineup,” Lenaway said.

A boy or girl is limited to two sets in a match, so a school must have at least seven boys and seven girls to avoid forfeiting any sets. This season Fallbrook has 14 girls and 10 boys. The Warriors do not have junior varsity teams.

Both the Fallbrook girls and the Warrior boys had played home matches at the Fallbrook Tennis Club before the return to the campus courts this year.

“We had all of our courts resurfaced,” Lenaway said.

The renovation of the on-campus courts also included new nets and new screening.

“It’s a brand-new facility,” Lenaway said.

Lenaway utilized senior Ethan Lenaway, junior Nolan Sim and junior Nash Youngren as Fallbrook’s boys’ singles players against Tri-City Christian, and all won 6-1 sets.

“I think our boys’ singles players played very well,” Bill Lenaway said.

The boys’ doubles team of sophomore Joseph Tygert and junior Daniel Winton prevailed by a 6-1 margin. Youngren and Sim had a 6-2 boys doubles win, as did juniors Angel Leon and James Smith.

Two Fallbrook girls won singles sets; junior Carly Hawkins obtained a 6-1 victory and freshman Angelina Palmerin began her high school career with a 6-4 triumph. Tri-City Christian’s Emma Lijenback took a 6-4 win at the expense of Fallbrook junior Alexa Guadarrama.

Hawkins and Palmerin teamed for a 6-4 girls doubles win. The girls’ doubles set involving Fallbrook sophomores Cynthia Flor and Tracy Lopez was tied at six game apiece, triggering a tie breaking game to seven points with the requirement that a win must be by at least two points. That two-point margin was not obtained until Flor and Lopez scored their ninth point of the game when their counterparts had seven points. A Tri-City duo defeated senior Vronie Serrano and sophomore Erin Rowan in a 6-3 girls doubles set.

Tri-City Christian won two of the three mixed doubles sets.

“A lot of our singles players aren’t used to playing doubles,” Lenaway said.

Serrano and Tygert had the only mixed doubles victory for the Warriors, taking six games while holding the Tri-City tandem to one game won. Guadarrama and Ethan Lenaway lost a 6-3 set. Rowan and Winton were on the short end of the 6-1 score.

Bill Lenaway said that the March 4 match was Fallbrook's first under coronavirus protocol, which limited his ability to observe his players.

“I spent most of the match being the COVID-19 protocol watchdog,” he said.

Flor and Leon had a 5-0 lead when their mixed doubles set was called due to darkness. Lopez and Smith were leading five games to three.

“I’m reasonably happy,” Lenaway said of the Warriors’ first match.

The Valley League for tennis this season consists of Fallbrook, Escondido, Ramona, San Pasqual, Valley Center and Vista. League play is scheduled to begin April 6.

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