By Pete Borello
Foothill Roundup
he Foothill College men’s tennis team has already qualified for the Northern California playoffs, but that doesn’t mean this week’s Ojai Tournament is for naught.
“It’s a tuneup to see who’s who in community college,” Foothill coach Dixie Macias said of the event, which runs Thursday through Saturday in Ventura. “It’s good preparation for the NorCal regionals.”
Foothill will be the clear favorite to win the NorCal team championship next week at Santa Rosa Community College.
The Owls go into the competition, set for May 3-5, with 21 NorCal crowns. In last year’s final, they beat Santa Rosa 5-0.
Earlier this month, Foothill captured the Coast Conference championship with a perfect 12-0 record. None of the matches were even close.
The preseason was a different story.
Foothill lost its six nonconference matches, though Macias points out that all of them were against four-year schools. But the coach has his reasons for scheduling the likes of St. Mary’s College, the University of California at Davis and the University of San Francisco.
“We play the four-year schools to get ready for the postseason,” Macias said. “It also helps us draw good players to the school because we play high-level competition.”
The Owls have plenty of talent this season, led by singles players Brian Martinez and Vishal Singh.
Martinez, the team’s No. 1 player, went undefeated in conference play and is ranked fifth in the state.
“He’s a tremendous athlete,” Macias said of the sophomore. “He has speed, tenacity and determination. He wants to win and will do whatever it takes to win.”
No. 2 player Singh, a transfer from Davis, is ranked 15th in the state. His only conference loss came to teammate Martinez in the singles final of the Coast Conference Individual Tournament on April 14 at Chabot College.
“Vishal is really determined, but is intense in a different type of way (than Martinez),” Macias said. “He has a silent intensity.”
The coach expects both players to qualify for the individual portion of the state tournament in singles and doubles. As a doubles team, Martinez-Singh posted a perfect conference record.
Macias is also confident that his No. 2 doubles team, sophomores Patrick Cabell of Los Altos and Jeff Albert, will make it to state. Cabell and Albert also play No. 3 and 4 singles, respectively.
The state tournament is scheduled for May 10-12 at American River Community College in Sacramento. It takes a top-eight finish in singles or doubles at NorCal to qualify for the individual portion of the state event.
The team competition will pit the NorCal champ against its counterpart from Southern California.
The Owls own 13 state titles, with their most recent win coming in 1997.
Adding to that total this season will be a daunting task. Their state final opponent would likely be College of the Desert, which has won the past three championships. The Roadrunners beat Foothill 6-0 in last year’s final.
“They should be the favorite again,” Macias said of College of the Desert.
Softball sidelined
With four games left on its schedule, the Foothill softball team had to call it a season due to a lack of players.
The Owls had a 3-11 record two weeks ago when coach Peg Johnson was forced to forfeit the remaining games.
Foothill, which relaunched its softball program last season after a 10-year absence, started this season with 10 players. But three players quit two weeks ago and the Owls could no longer field a team.
“It’s disappointing,” said Johnson, in her first year as coach. “But at least I can get busy finding some players for next year, so we have a bigger team and don’t go through this again.”
