The doubles team of Garrett Garcia and Sean Strathford-Jones went 3-0 and talented freshman Matthew Grimes went 2-1 as the Bishop Diego opened the boys tennis season with a 10-8 win over rival Carpinteria.
“We’re a young team, and I thought we looked pretty solid for our first time out,” said coach Ray Vazquez. “Grimes started out a little slow, so I talked to him and just told him to hit it like he knows how to hit it, and from there on he played great.”
A pair of football players — RJ Escamilla and Art Gonzales — teamed up to go 2-1 in doubles as well. Carpinteria was led by 2-1 singles performances from Charlie Hough and Coby Bryant.
Vazquez is the cross-country/boys basketball/boys tennis coach at Bishop, much like Kordell Stewart was a quarterback/running back/wide receiver/punter during his days with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thus, he has earned Stewart’s nickname of “Slash” by editors at PresidioSports.com
BISHOP DIEGO 10, CARPINTERIA 8
Singles — BD: Ekola 1-2, Grimes 2-1, Mathis 1-1, Iljen 1-0. C: Hough 2-1, Bryant 2-1, Saito 0-3.
Doubles — BD: Garcia-Strathford-Jones 3-0, Escamilla-Gonzales 2-1, Tisdale-Lopez 0-3. C: Culbertson-JaBlackwell 2-1, JoBlackwell-Lopez 1-2, Griffith-Parker 1-2.
