Warriors win league tennis championship

Fallbrook High School's tennis team won all 10 Valley League matches during the 2020-21 season, giving the Warriors the league championship.

"It's kind of cool to think that we might go down as the only co-ed league champions ever," said Fallbrook coach Bill Lenaway.

The coronavirus shutdown delayed the start of CIF sports until February. Girls tennis is normally a fall sport and boys tennis is normally a spring sport. Boys and girls tennis were combined for the 2020-21 season including mixed doubles sets for the first time in San Diego Section history.

"Combining the two teams, I think it worked out well for us. As the year went on, I think it got more comfortable for the kids," Lenaway said.

The 2020-21 format consisted of three boys singles sets, three girls singles sets, three boys doubles sets, three girls doubles sets, and five mixed doubles sets. A boy or girl was limited to two sets in a match.

Fallbrook's three boys singles players – senior Ethan Lenaway, junior Nolan Sim, and junior Nash Youngren – were all undefeated in league sets. In many matches junior Daniel Winton and sophomore Joseph Tygert were a boys doubles tandem, and in some matches those two players had other boys doubles partners. Winton and Tygert were both undefeated in the league boys doubles sets regardless of their partners, and Tygert was also undefeated in Valley League mixed doubles play.

Although junior Alexa Guadarrama lost two girls singles sets during the league season, one of those was to Valley Center senior Rania Price in the first round of league play. In Fallbrook's second match against the Jaguars, Guadarrama obtained a 6-0 victory over Price.

Valley Center finished second in the league standings. The Jaguars posted an 8-2 Valley League record with Fallbrook being responsible for both of those losses.

A school must have at least seven boys and seven girls to avoid forfeiting any sets. Because the CIF seasons were compressed, many multi-sport athletes had to choose between tennis and another sport. "Everybody struggled, it just seemed like, throughout San Diego," Bill Lenaway said.

Fallbrook was unable to field a junior varsity team, but the Warriors had sufficient numbers for competitive varsity competition. "We have a really good amount of depth," Lenaway said.

Vronie Serrano is Fallbrook's only girls senior. Ethan Lenaway and Youngren were the only boys seniors who played this year; Cole Traut is on the roster but was injured.

"It hasn't been the best ending for them. I'm glad to be able to offer some positive kind of note for them on their way out of school," Bill Lenaway said of the league championship.