Trojans ace Redhakws on Colusa courts

The veteran experience of the Orland High boys tennis team proved to be too much for the young Colusa team under heavy cloud cover Thursday in Colusa.

For the second time this season the Trojans controlled the action on the court to beat the RedHawks, winning 9-0 in a non-league match. On March 6 the Trojans won 8-1.

Despite playing without their ace Jonathan Vasquez, Orland played well on the rain-slicked courts and didn't lose a set.

Senior Ray Hecox moved up to the No. 1 spot and beat Colusa sophomore Jordan Wilson 6-0, 6-1 after a short rain delay on the city courts and Guillermo Bannuelos downed his opponent Moises Valdez 6-0, 6-1.

Bannuelos put in a lot of work during the off-season and lost about 30 pounds, now his hard work is paying off, Orland coach Adam Reimers said.

"Last year (Bannuelos) was No. 5 and he had pretty good hands. It wasn't that he couldn't hit shots, it was if he could be mobile enough to be in position to hit them," Reimers said.

At the Colusa High courts, Joseph Glover rallied back from a 5-1 deficit against RedHawks freshman Jack Zhao to pick up a 7-5, 6-0 victory. Mauricio Ziranda and Jeremy Walls engaged in a drawn-out battle with long rallies before Ziranda won (6-3, 6-3).

Sophomore Draven Yahn and senior Jimmy Gamboa, who is playing tennis for the first time, closed out the singled matches with victories for the Trojans, beating Diego Rivas and Juan Ruiz.

Hecox and Bannuelos teamed up to topple Wilson and Valdez in the No. 1 doubles match 8-4. Hecox, the Butte View League defensive co-MVP, brings his middle linebacker mentality to the tennis court and dominated play at the net for the Trojans and Bannuelos earned points with his powerful serves.

"(Hecox) likes bringing it to his opponent. He actually likes doubles better than he does singles because he gets to just roam that net in doubles," Reimers said.

The Trojans picked up victories in the other two doubles matches. Glover and Yahn defeated Walls and Zhao (8-3), and Gamboa and Ziranda beat Rivas and Ruiz (8-2).

Despite the loss, first-year Colusa coach Amanda Jones was happy with how the RedHawks played against the Trojans, many of whom have state playoff experience.

"I've been so impressed — particularly the 5, 6 and 7 guys — with their improvement over the past month that we've been practicing and playing, and today playing against these guys who are far superior to them they were doing fantastic," Jones said.

Zhao, Rivas and Ruiz are all freshman, and Wilson is a sophomore so playing against a top team such as Orland will help them in the future, she said.

The RedHawks (1-3) faced the defending Northern Section Division II champion Trojans twice in their first four matches but Jones is looking forward to seeing how the team develops the rest of the season.

"I'm glad it's over," Jones said about the season series against Orland.

Orland 9, Colusa 0

Singles

Hecox, O, def. Wilson, C, 6-0, 6-1; Bannuelos, O, def. Valdez, 6-0, 6-1; Glover, O, def. Zhao, C, 7-5, 6-0; Ziranda, O, def. Walls, C, 6-3, 6-3; Yahn, O, def. Rivas, C, 6-1, 6-2; Gamboa, O, def. Ruiz, C, 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles

Hecox/Bannuelos, O, def. Wilson/Valdez, C, 8-4; Glover/Yahn, O, def. Zhao/Walls, C, 8-3; Ziranda/Gamboa, O, def. Rivas/Ruiz, C, 8-2.

CONTACT Kirk Barron at 458-2121 or kbarron@tcnpress.com.