Los Banos tennis team beats undefeated Central Valley to run league winning streak to 66 matches

Sixty-six and counting.

Los Banos High School’s girls tennis team ran its conference winning streak to 66 matches with a 6-3 victory over Central Valley, which also entered Tuesday’s contest undefeated.

To have any chance at stopping the streak, Hawks coach Mike Rodriguez figured his team would have to dominate the lower half of singles play and take two of three doubles matches.

“I don’t think they’re as good as they’ve been in the past,” said Rodriguez, in his sixth year as coach. “But they are so consistent, you’ve got to play pretty well, regardless.”

The Tigers, now 6-0 in Western Athletic Conference action, got off to a fast start with No. 1 singles player Shirley Liu cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Teresa Ruiz. No. 2 singles player Taylor Torongo needed three sets to knock off Jadah Jackson 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and No. 3 Melanie Silva blasted Brianna Lopez 6-0, 6-0.

“I teach them to be consistent until they have a shot, and then put it away,” said Lynn Barcellos, who won two Sac-Joaquin Section Division I individual titles in 1980 and ’81 for Grace Davis and a Division II crown for Manteca in 1983. “The biggest thing, I feel, is consistency. … Stay behind the service line and wait for an opportunity.”

Where Rodriguez hoped to make up ground, in Nos. 4, 5 and 6 singles, Los Banos took two of those three matches. No. 4 Kylee Cardoza and No. 5 Adri Moreno won for the Tigers. Only Claudia Martinez earned a singles victory for the Hawks.

Central Valley’s No. 1 doubles tandem of Vanessa Monroy and Ayme Nguyen, and its No. 3 duo of Maria Rojas and Stephanie Lopez, were winners.

Brooklyn Garcia and Haley Ballez won the No. 2 doubles matchup for Los Banos, which goes for No. 67 in a row on Thursday against Patterson.

“It’s a big deal, and with a whole new crew from last year, we don’t want to be the team to let down,” said Liu, a sophomore, referring to the streak that started in 2010. “I don’t think anyone likes pressure, but it kind of keeps us going.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 8:47 PM with the headline "Los Banos tennis team beats undefeated Central Valley to run league winning streak to 66 matches."