No team can match the rise of the Christopher High School boys tennis squad. Last year, there was no team—just one potential player but ideally a competitive squad would have 10.
This year, coach Megan Lyons has a full crew and they just went unbeaten in league.
“We haven’t had a boys team for a few years, as far as I know,” Lyons said. “I know there wasn’t one for the last two seasons and I don’t think they had a competitive team the year prior to those seasons.”
Lyons has recruited a team and created a culture of learning and enjoying the sport. The Cougars crew is led at the top by the talented Titoteeta “Cito” Bira. He is the No. 1 singles player and has helped create the aura and culture.
The other team members are Nimit Athwal, Kingston Solomon, Zeus Espino, Ben Pham, Hassan Baqai, Mykhailo “Michael” Prokurashko, Nico Corvi, Noah King and Moses Mallobox.
“Cito has been a huge asset to the team as he joined the team as an experienced player,” Lyons said. “He has been a tremendous leader as one of our captains on and off the court while being one of the most humble athletes I have ever met.
“Nimit is also a team captain and is often the first one to finish his matches. Kingston is a multi-sport athlete who has won against some teams’ No. 1 and No. 2 players. Zeus Espino joined the team because his family really enjoys tennis, but he hadn’t played before, and he has been an amazing athlete who caught on quickly and even practiced outside of our practice hours.”
Several of the players compete in multiple sports. Solomon also plays club soccer and a few are involved with badminton. It results in some creative scheduling but Lyons says they all work hard and try their best.
“Cito came ready to go,” Lyons said. “It helps having a really good person to lead the team, to make sure they come to practices, as they’re all involved in other things. And making sure they enjoy the game.”
Bira has both skill and experience, as he began playing tennis at age six, 10 years ago. With that knowledge and his goals for the team, he became a great partner for Lyons. He is a fervent believer in tennis for athletics and for teamwork.
“I love the sport,” Bira said. “It’s low-injury and it’s good exercise. There is a mental game along with the physical. For me, it’s also interactive. People to bond with, to hit with and it’s good for socializing. And I use tennis to balance things like homework.”
Lyons noted that Bira and his father talked with her back when he was in eighth grade. They asked if there was a boys coach and if not, perhaps she could coach. Bira was out of the country during his freshman year but came back and he and Lyons and others put a team together.
“With Cito coming back, and having worked with some of the boys on their tennis game over the summer—like Ben Pham, my No. 6 player who plays doubles and whose sister also played for me during the girls’ season—I was able to get some interest in starting a team,” Lyons said. “I had my girls reach out to their guy friends as well as have the guys do some recruiting too so that we had a full team of 10 players this season.”
Christopher competed in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, West Valley Division, a “C” Division grouping. In that loop, they ran the table, going 12-0. That mark includes two victories each against every other team—Del Mar, Gilroy, Independence, Live Oak, Mt. Pleasant and Overfelt.
That put them in the post-season, where they faced Leland, an “A” Division team from the Mt. Hamilton Division. The Cougars were competitive but no match for the Chargers, in a contest on April 23. That ended the team competition.
Individual championships in singles and doubles also took place.
After dominating league play for the Cougars, Bira won the championship in the BVAL West Valley singles tournament. Scores were 8-1 over Angelo Neri of Independence, 8-3 over Sawyer Rogers of Gunderson and 8-4 over Nicholas Pfeil of Live Oak. Bira now moves on to the BVAL singles qualifier for the Central Coast Section playoffs this week, on April 30 and May 1.
“Cito has an all-around game; he’s a really good athlete,” Lyons said. “He has an awesome serve and knows how to change the pace of the ball he hits.
“Nimit (Athwal) has a killer forehand. Kingston (Solomon) is methodical. He is always thinking about where to place the ball. Ben (Pham) is brand new to the sport and Hassan (Baqai) brought in Nico (Corvi), Moses (Mallobox) and Michael (Mykhailov Prokurashko).”
Athwal and Solomon, usually the No. 2 and No. 3 singles players, joined forces to compete in doubles in the BVAL West Valley championships. They defeated an Overfelt pair 8-0, a Del Mar team 8-4 and then lost a close match to a duo from Live Oak. The second place finish qualifies them for this week’s BVAL doubles championship for CCS qualification.
The results are impressive, with the 12-0 league record, the West Valley singles title and the doubles runner-up finish.
Teamwork and joy of the sport resonate highly on the Cougars squad. The future is bright, as the top four players are all underclassmen. Bira is a sophomore, Athwal and Solomon are juniors and Espino is just a freshman.
“I am very proud of this team and how much success they have been able to achieve in such a short time,” Lyons said. “Having seasoned athletes like Kingston Solomon, driven athletes like Zeus Espino, athletes that grew in confidence like Hassan Baqai and Ben Pham, and humble leadership in Cito Bira has helped this season progress. We will most likely be moving up to the Santa Teresa Division next season. Next year we will be focusing on finding more teams to play that will strengthen our schedule and give our team more opportunity to hone their skills.”
