It was deja vu all over again for the Moore League girls’ tennis finals on Wednesday at Billie Jean Moffitt King Tennis Center.
Just like last year, CAMS sophomore Mandy Oliveros beat a quality opponent from Wilson to take the singles championship. Oliveros finished her near perfect tournament by beating Wilson senior Vannesa Holden 6-2, 6-2.
“I think (this year) was more smooth in preparation because last year I didn’t know what to expect at all,” Oliveros said. “Now I can focus on playing more than just the experience. I think I played better than last year because I improved mentally more than physically. All of the experience and the tournament over the summer, I’ve progressed in handling tense situations in closer matches.”
Oliveros is one of the best Moore League tennis players in recent years, and is currently ranked in the Top 25 for youth tennis players in California.
CAMS is also the reigning Moore League champions and won the CIF-SS Division 5 title last year. Oliveros thinks that not having much success historically has motivated this group of CAMS tennis players.
“I didn’t even know about CAMS before I went there, and didn’t know about their tennis, so I’m just glad to represent and come out here and play and make history for the school,” she said. “I’m proud to put CAMS into league history.”
“They have really good team spirit and that’s one of the things I’m really proud of,” CAMS coach Lorant Lassu said. “You’ll notice that they really cheer for each other. They also learn from each other, not just on the court but also in life.”
Oliveros got off to a fast start and a 3-0 lead in the first set thanks to breaking Holden’s serve. When Holden took a game to make it 4-2 in the set, Oliveros turned up the heat with a wicked crosscourt backhand that helped her win the point and the set 6-2.
Holden found her rhythm in the second set and quickly broke Oliveros’ serve before taking a 2-0 lead in the set by making Oliveros move and hit a variety of returns.
“My approach was to stay calm,” said Holden, who is a former league champion and played in three finals. “I feel like I have a lot of accumulated resilience, so I just tried to keep a level head and not get too down on myself.”
“She’s a great counter puncher,” Oliveros said of Holden. “I think I hit an amazing shot and she’ll just come back with an even better shot. You have to expect the unexpected with her in every match we play.”
Oliveros used a cut backhand shot to break back and then rode that momentum to easily tie the set 2-2.
“When I get tense my forehand just tends to do whatever it wants,” Oliveros said. “My backhand just stayed steady and kept me in there for the points I needed. Once my forehand got back into rhythm I came back.”
A couple vicious overhead smashes late in the match showed just how good and Oliveros can be when challenged well.
“A big part of tennis is being dynamic and learning all the different styles,” Wilson coach Nick Medina said. “(Holden) takes the pace of her opponent and redirects it and goes down the line a lot. You have to lean into those strengths. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough today with the quality of tennis that Mandy was playing.”
“She’s probably the best player I’ve come across in our league,” Holden said of Oliveros. “She’s really good at timing the ball and all of her swinging volleys, I don’t even know what I could do with that.”
CAMS had both teams in the doubles finals as Sara Rodriguez and Saya Nagae used a thrilling tiebreaker to beat Erica Lu and Oliveros 3-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Oliveros, Holden and the rest of their teams now prepare for CIF postseason action. The team brackets will be released early next week.
