Sobrato boys tennis coach Ken Marques had no qualms when his team was voted down to the West Valley Division this past offseason.
The Bulldogs won two matches in 2011 as members of the Santa Teresa Division and, as Josh Ino, the team’s lone current senior, put it, “had two or three good guys and a bunch of novices.” A change in schedule was inevitable.
This spring, the Bulldogs did more than prey on weaker competition, though, while finishing 12-0 in league (13-2 overall) for only the second time in program history. Their first team championship since 2008 was more of a product of hard work and team-bonding.
“From last year to this year, there’s been a huge, huge improvement from all the boys,” Marques said. “Their hitting, and their confidence and chemistry have exceeded our expectation by 10 miles.
“It’s been very pleasurable, considering we knew we were going to be near the top of the C division,” the second-year coach added. “But I had no idea we’d go undefeated.”
The Bulldogs did more than that. Their starting four singles players and top three doubles pairs achieved double-digit win totals, including team-best 15-1 marks by Ino and Mitchell Pasek in the Nos. 3-4 singles spots.
“We have more of a solid team this year and less of a gap between players,” Ino said. “It’s more of a united level of talent.”
Sobrato will play Evergreen Valley, the third-place team from the Mount Hamilton Division, at a neutral site April 24 for a berth in the Central Coast Section Team Playoffs. Win or lose, the Bulldogs’ final record will be nothing short of impressive.
Sobrato’s two losses came by close margins against Tri-County Athletic League Valley Division front-runner San Benito and former Santa Teresa Division rival Live Oak.
“That says a lot,” Marques said. “We should have beaten them. We still got more than we asked for.”
The Bulldogs’ domination of the West Valley Division was further displayed March 23 at the league’s doubles tournament final – two Sobrato pairs squared off. Alex Ferreira and Pasek beat Adarsh Cherra and Michael Le.
“It was good because it made it kind of more fun than competitive,” Ferreira said with a smile. “We were still competitive, but it’s kind of fun because it’s all of us, and we know each other and get along.”
The fleet and powerful Ferreira has been a key addition in the top singles spot, where the sophomore is 11-4.
“He’s just a great player,” Ino said. “I know he has a lot of experience on the court. I think he has a lot of potential for the future. Senior year, he’s going to be really good.”
Ferreira played tennis for almost a decade until taking a break from it three years ago. He was coaxed into joining the Sobrato team in winter.
“They tried to get me to come out last year, but I wasn’t feeling it for some reason,” he said. “But I’m glad I did this year. We’re kind of like a big ’ol family.”
A family that will continue growing up together next year, when Sobrato returns Ferreira, Pasek and freshman sensation Justin Lyle (12-1) in singles and, in doubles, Adrian Quintana and Cherra (14-1 together), Praveen Sinha and Le (10-5), and Taylor Melody and Ravneet Grewal (13-2), plus backups Marko Macura (7-1) and Chris Johnson (3-3), who paired up and won 6-2, 6-2 Thursday in Sobrato’s regular-season ending 7-0 win over Mount Pleasant.
Ino, however, will be tough to replace.
“Josh is a great leader,” Ferreira said. “He’s always trying to pump us up. When coach isn’t here, he’s leading us through drills and pushing us, getting us in better shape. He knows everyone on the team pretty well.”
Ino takes after his coach in that regard.
“If he sees anything wrong with our game or sees anything he wants to tweak,” Ino said, “he’ll tell us how to fix it. But he’ll let us play our game.”
The Bulldogs’ formula for success won’t change next year, when they return to the Santa Teresa Division. This time, they’ll be there to stay.
“It’s really competitive, but we’re confident,” Marques said. “If they continue to work with me and put in the time, at the rate they’re improving, we should be in the top three. I don’t want to set the goal too high – we’re still a young team.”
Track and field
Sobrato junior Ryan Corvese clocked the fifth-fastest time, 8:48.71, out of 39 runners in the 3,000 meters Saturday at the Stanford Invitational.
Corvese, who is ranked ninth in the CCS in the 3,200 meters, placed second in his heat.
- Live Oak sophomore Afari La-Anyane holds the 18th-fastest time, 16.15, in the 110 hurdles for the section this year.
Softball
Live Oak pitcher Katie Obbema will sign with Humboldt State on Friday.
The senior is 8-4 this season.
