Ceres High's Luis Ochoa and Sonora's Vicente Mosso, the top two varsity boys tennis players in the Valley Oak League, battled for close to three hours.
Mosso kept his perfect record intact by rallying from one set down to beat Ochoa 3-6, 7-6 (11), 7-5 on Tuesday, April 28 in Ceres.
"There was a lot of pressure," said Luis, who dropped to 21-3 in league play. "That match pretty much decides who the league MVP is."
Mosso (27-0) staved off match point three times in the second-set tiebreaker and twice in the third set.
"The bottom line is Luis has got to learn how to win the big points," Bulldogs head coach Brian de la Porte said. "He needed to focus more and dig deeper."
"That match could have gone either way," Ochoa said. "I should have played more aggressive and gone to the net. I got nervous. I was trying to drink water between changeovers and my hand was shaking."
Mosso, a Chilean exchange student, enjoyed competing in the spotlight. Vicente even stared down Ceres High's fans while pounding his chest with his fist. He collapsed to the court on his back in jubilation after securing the come-from-behind win.
"He's the best player I've played against in high school," Ochoa said. "He doesn't make any mistakes. He's really consistent."
Vicente improved to 2-0 on the year against Luis. Ochoa squandered a comfortable lead en route to a 7-6 (7-4) loss to Mosso during round-robin play.
Luis and Vicente could meet again this week at the VOL singles tournament.
"I'm pretty confident I can win that match," Ochoa said. "There are some things I'll do differently."
First-place Sonora (13-0) also claimed the team victory over fourth-place Ceres High (7-5) last week.
The 4-1 score doesn't indicate how close the contest was as three of the five matches went three sets.
Mosso kept his perfect record intact by rallying from one set down to beat Ochoa 3-6, 7-6 (11), 7-5 on Tuesday, April 28 in Ceres.
"There was a lot of pressure," said Luis, who dropped to 21-3 in league play. "That match pretty much decides who the league MVP is."
Mosso (27-0) staved off match point three times in the second-set tiebreaker and twice in the third set.
"The bottom line is Luis has got to learn how to win the big points," Bulldogs head coach Brian de la Porte said. "He needed to focus more and dig deeper."
"That match could have gone either way," Ochoa said. "I should have played more aggressive and gone to the net. I got nervous. I was trying to drink water between changeovers and my hand was shaking."
Mosso, a Chilean exchange student, enjoyed competing in the spotlight. Vicente even stared down Ceres High's fans while pounding his chest with his fist. He collapsed to the court on his back in jubilation after securing the come-from-behind win.
"He's the best player I've played against in high school," Ochoa said. "He doesn't make any mistakes. He's really consistent."
Vicente improved to 2-0 on the year against Luis. Ochoa squandered a comfortable lead en route to a 7-6 (7-4) loss to Mosso during round-robin play.
Luis and Vicente could meet again this week at the VOL singles tournament.
"I'm pretty confident I can win that match," Ochoa said. "There are some things I'll do differently."
First-place Sonora (13-0) also claimed the team victory over fourth-place Ceres High (7-5) last week.
The 4-1 score doesn't indicate how close the contest was as three of the five matches went three sets.
