Second-year head coach Jesse Apodaca talked about the challenges of rebuilding Ceres High School’s girls tennis program prior to the start of the 2026 season.

“It’s literally starting from the ground up,” he said. “I’m trying to teach them things people don’t get a grasp on for six months to a year. It’s a lot of repetition. As long as they’re willing to take constructive criticism from me, they should keep improving. It’s going to be a slow process.”

For the second year in a row, Apodaca will lead an inexperienced team.

Many high-school athletes are choosing to play girls flag football and soccer instead of tennis during the fall.

Girls flag football continues to grow at a rapid pace as participation statewide increased by 25.4 percent to 24,979 new players in 2025 according to the California Interscholastic Federation.

“I’m losing too many good athletes to other sports,” said Apodaca, who’s carrying 18 players on his roster this season. “There are too many options. I can’t change that. The one bright spot is the ones that are here are working hard and trying to get better. They’re receptive to what I’m telling them. Hopefully, that stuff will start sinking in over time.”

Ceres High lost 14 players from last year’s team, including Alyson Brumbaugh, Nerisha Singh, Tatiana Alvarado, Natalie Franco, Dania Gallo Padilla, Carmen Padilla, Mia Miller, Aileen Rocha, Martina Meglioli, Laura Reyes, Denisse Gonzalez, Kassandra Hernandez, Xochiti Ofelia Gonzalez Hernandez and Tatiana Zamora.

Brumbaugh, Singh, Alvarado, Franco, Gallo Padilla, Padilla, Miller and Rocha all graduated.

Meglioli, a foreign-exchange student-athlete, returned to Italy.

Reyes, Gonzalez, Hernandez, Ofelia Gonzalez Hernandez and Zamora opted not to play for different reasons.

Zamora managed to earn second-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors as a freshman despite missing the second half of the season with an injury sustained while playing club soccer.

She compiled a near-perfect 6-1 record at No. 4 singles.

“If there’s a silver lining, I’m only going to lose one girl to graduation,” Apodaca said.

The Bulldogs return just two players from a season ago in Xaimara Corona Mejia (Jr.) and Cazandra Fregoso (So.).

Newcomers Helena Trujillo (Sr.), Marixbel Castro (Jr.), Yuleyki Felix (Jr.), Lleymi Suarez-Garcia (Jr.), Giselle Valdez Medina (Jr.), Brenda Diaz-Navarro (So.), Briseyda Erenas Rios (So.), Dayana Gallo (So.), Marisol Gomez (So.), Amy Gonzalez (So.), Ashley Mercado Moreno (So.), Selene Saucedo (So.), Kiara Gutierrez Ayala (Fr.), Sofia Rocha Cisneros (Fr.), Trisha Riddhi (Fr.) and Michelle Salas Rodriguez (Fr.) round out Ceres High’s roster.

“It’s much more challenging this year,” Apodaca said. “Only two players came back. I have players that have never picked up a tennis racket before. The challenge is trying to teach them how to hit a ball and keep score. They’ll get more comfortable as they get more matches under their belt.”

Corona Mejia is a team leader.

“She keeps the team up with her positive personality,” Apodaca said. “She’s playful and joking all the time.”

The Bulldogs’ starting lineup features Trujillo, Corona Mejia, Felix, Fregoso, Castro, Valdez Medina, Gonzalez, Salas Rodriguez, Gutierrez Ayala, Riddhi, Diaz-Navarro and Erenas Rios.

Trujillo, Corona Mejia, Felix, Fregoso, Castro and Valdez Medina will log playing time at No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 singles, respectively.

Gonzalez and Salas Rodriguez will log playing time at No. 1 doubles.

Gutierrez Alvarez and Riddhi will log playing time at No. 2 doubles.

Diaz-Navarro and Erenas Rios will log playing time at No. 3 doubles.

Gomez will also contribute at doubles.

Ceres High will play home and away matches against Central Valley, Beyer, Grace Davis, Johansen, Pacheco, Livingston, and Lathrop during WAC regular season.

Ceres High and Johansen tied for last place in the 2025 league standings with identical 1-13 records.

The Hawks lost twice to the crosstown-rival Bulldogs.

Ceres High has compiled a 1-15 record versus Central Valley dating back to the 2014 season.

The Hawks claimed their second straight WAC title last fall.

Central Valley, Grace Davis and Pacheco were awarded the conference’s three playoff spots.

“I fully expect us to be better the second time around in league,” Apodaca said.

Apodaca was hired as a walk-on head coach at Ceres High during the 2025-26 school year.

The Bulldogs have had four different leaders since 2018, including Apodoca, Vince Vega, Michelle Casey and Brandon Moring.

Ceres High compiled a 2-12 record en route to a seventh-place finish in conference play under Vega’s guidance in 2023.

Casey and Moring led the Bulldogs to the playoffs in 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Moring’s team took second in the WAC with an 11-3 record.

Casey’s squad took third in league with a 9-5 mark.

The Bulldogs didn’t field a girls tennis team in 2024 due to a lack of interest.

“I had to change my expectations coming from the college to high school level,” Apodaca said. “Communication is different. You have to muzzle what you say sometimes. Winning is not always the priority.”

A Ceres resident and 1987 graduate of Live Oaks High School, Apodaca has over 20 years of tennis experience as a player and coach.

He was an assistant coach for the Modesto Junior College women’s team for seven years.

He’s played in United States Tennis Association leagues and tournaments for over 15 years.

“I know what it takes to be successful,” Apodaca said.