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Warriors tennis season gets under way against Cordova
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Photo by Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Ron Halas keeps his eye on the ball as he prepares to return a shot in the number one singles match Monday at Cordova.
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By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports
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With their only preseason scrimmage having taken place a month ago, the Galt Warriors boys’ tennis team has had considerably less time than other teams to play against opponents preparation for the Sierra Valley Conference season, which started Monday.
Instead, the Warriors, coached by Oriana Ruggiero, prepared for their first match by practicing daily and figuring out their ladder.
Weather issues and scheduling conflicts left the Warriors without any game experience against other teams except for a Feb. 25 scrimmage against Sheldon High School, according to Ruggiero Monday.
“Other coaches that I contacted already had their season already filled, or because of the rain, we had to cancel them and our season just got too close to starting,” Ruggiero said.
The Warriors currently have 23 players on their roster, including all but four of its athletes from last season.
“I have 23 guys this year under the no-cut policy and they’re trying to get the ladder established and everything was just too hard,” Ruggiero said.
“I have a great team, I have a lot of talent, and I have a lot of new guys, so I think potentially we could have won this game.”
The Warriors lost to Cordova Monday, after the Lancers took the better part of the day’s nine matches.
The majority of the Warriors is made up of juniors, although the team has a decent number of seniors.
“I only have six seniors, one sophomore, and the rest are juniors. For the most part, I have all of my returning players except for four, and the rest are new,” Ruggiero said.
Returning players include Ron Halas, Taylor Madison, Boyce Jeffries, Micah Stevenson and Andrew Hanashiro.
New players, meanwhile, include Trevor Alcoriza, Kyle Figeac, and Paul Herzog, among many others.
“I have a lot of new talent, but they’re definitely progressing and they’re doing quite well,” said Ruggiero.
The Warriors had just two days to practice for Monday’s season opener due to Galt High School’s spring break.
“We practiced Thursday and Friday, and we played today,” Ruggiero said.
The Warriors will next play at Oak Ridge tomorrow, and will have a busy schedule next week with three matches.
The Warriors will host Union Mine on Monday, will travel to Vista del Lago Tuesday, and will return home to host Christian Brothers next Thursday.
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