With roughly half the players he had on last season’s squad,
Gilroy High tennis coach John Langer is making due with a lack of
bodies.
The Mustangs have just 12 players compared to 23 from a year
ago, but that hasn’t stopped the team from compiling a 2-3 record
in Tri-County Athletic League play despite injury and illness while
going 5-4 overall.
GILROY – With roughly half the players he had on last season’s squad, Gilroy High tennis coach John Langer is making due with a lack of bodies.
The Mustangs have just 12 players compared to 23 from a year ago, but that hasn’t stopped the team from compiling a 2-3 record in Tri-County Athletic League play despite injury and illness while going 5-4 overall.
“There’s not a lot of depth so if somebody’s sick we’re in trouble,” Langer said. “But we’re actually a pretty strong team all the way through. One of the biggest strengths is … skill level and stuff. All of our doubles (pairings) are at the level they could play No. 1 doubles.”
Mitch Souza and Andrew Costa – Gilroy’s No. 1 doubles – have gone undefeated in TCAL matches, as have Zach Singh and Jared Vesson (No. 2), and Joseph Leong and Kevin Lee (No. 3).
As a team in league, Gilroy lost matches against Salinas, Alvarez and Monta Vista, but recorded victories over Palma and Watsonville. The club beat Seaside, Pacific Grove and Sobrato in non-league play and lost to Carmel.
On the Mustangs’ singles’ side, No. 1 Vinh Vong’s offseason work has been paying off.
“Vinh played pretty much every day since the end of last season and the beginning of this season,” Langer said. “He grew a lot.”
GHS No. 2 Matt Chan has been “super consistent,” Langer said, while Ryan Azad and Oliver Drewry have been steady performers at the No. 3 and No. 4 slots, respectively.
“The lack of depth, not having bodies if we need them, has been tough,” Langer said. “It really cost us two matches, but that’s okay. You deal with what you got.”
The goal is to end the league schedule on a strong note, which could lead to a couple of qualifiers for the Central Coast Section Championships.
“We’ve probably lost enough points we’re not going to win league … but winning [future] league matches is huge,” Langer said. “If we can be healthy, I think we can beat everybody but Salinas.”
The Mustangs will be back on the court today at 4 p.m. at Palma.
