With one final shot

It's the largest, most prestigious high school tennis tournament in the nation, and for the Yuba City High boys team, it was no problem.

In the tightest possible fashion, the close-knit group made up of eight seniors and a sophomore outmatched 12 schools in the Division VI bracket to take home a different kind of banner on Saturday — the California High School Boys Tennis Classic championship.

The tournament, which is held in Fresno each year, accepts 112 schools from the west region, and it's not exactly easy to get in.

"It's brutal. There's actually a waiting list to get into this tournament," Yuba City High tennis coach Patricia Kiehn said. "We've been in this tournament for five years now and this is the first time we've ever won."

For the Honkers, it was a long time coming.

They've taken their lumps and bruises for the past three years in the Tri-County Conference, but now this senior class is ready to deliver some of their own.

"We're on a mission now," Kiehn said. "They really want to win the conference."

The last and only time the Honkers boys team brought home a Tri-County Conference banner was three years ago — when Jordon Friend was a freshman.

The No. 3 player went 3-2 overall, along with No. 1 player Riley Secrist.

It was the straight set victories of No. 2 Trevor Kent, who went 5-0, and the late-match heroics of the entire team, which earned the Honkers their title.

That, and a little boost from Kiehn.

The eight-year coach clung to fences repeatedly last Friday and Saturday, shouting, "we need this set or we lose!"

Her passion and competitive spirit for the sport is unmatched and contagious.

"All I have to do is whistle now and they all turn their head at once," she said.

The discipline was necessary. The way the Honkers won was as close as possible.

With three singles and three doubles matches against each of their opponents, the Honkers tied each school 3-3. Therefore, the team that advances is based on sets: Yuba City defeated Oakmont 8-6; Bakersfield Christian 7-6; Saint Mary's of Stockton 8-7; Sunnyside 7-6; and Vacaville 8-6.

Needless to say, the narrow margin of victories were collectively pieced together by the entire team.

Secrist and the No. 2 doubles team of Sami Musallam and Charl Van Zyl each pulled out late-set victories to lift Yuba City past Oakmont.

Against Bakersfield Christian, it was the No. 1 doubles team of Eric Bonick and Santi De La Torre, who pulled out the extra set.

Friend, along with the Bonick-De La Torre pair and No. 3 doubles duo of Jeff Funk and Nathan Buckland — the lone sophomore — pulled out extra sets against St. Mary's.

Van Zyl and Musallam came through against both Sunnyside and Vacaville. Friend also delivered with a late-set victory to help boosters the Honkers.

"These guys have the right stuff," Kiehn said of her team. "There's just something about this team this year."

While the season is just beginning, Kiehn can't help think about next year — losing eight players on a tennis team is crippling to a program.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I'll have to take a lot of trips to foreign countries to get some exchange students," she joked.