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Bulldog netters continue to impress
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Ceres Highs Waleed Majeed (pictured right) and Shane Kumar rallied for a 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-3 win over Central Catholics Mark Dunn and Andrew Jensen in No. 2 doubles play last week. - photo by DALE BUTLER/The Courier

Ceres High School's varsity boys tennis team has ascended to a level very few programs in the Stanislaus District have reached over the past three seasons.

The Bulldogs have won 74 of 78 matches since 2012, including 30 straight in Western Athletic Conference play.

Ceres High captured its third consecutive WAC title this past week.

The Bulldogs, 24-0 on the year and 11-0 in the WAC, also secured their fifth straight playoff berth.

Ceres High advanced to the finals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II Tournament last year.

"The kids have accepted the challenges," Ceres High head coach Bryan Harden said. "It's not always pretty or dominant. But we're still winning the matches. We try to play every single point like it's our last."

Ceres High kept its perfect record intact with an 8-1 victory over host Los Banos on Wednesday.

Alick Liang defeated JT Barcellos 6-2, 6-2 in No. 1 singles play.

Chase Harden defeated Josh Carlucci 6-0, 6-1 in No. 2 singles play.

Rene Cortes defeated Luke Sanchez 6-1, 6-2 in No. 3 singles play.

Jordan Mey defeated Jonas Toscano 6-2, 6-1 in No. 4 singles play.

Jorge Ruiz defeated Anthony Garcia 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 in No. 5 singles play.

Juan Jimenez and Shane Kumar defeated Elias Navarro and Darren Baty 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 doubles play.

Heath Adrian and Dennis Phommalinh defeated Max Edinger and Thomas King 6-1, 6-4 in No. 2 doubles play.

Julian Rodriguez and Waleed Majeed defeated Jesse Hernandez and Chris Lunetree 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in No. 3 doubles play.

Bruno de la Torre lost 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to Tyler Cicairos in No. 6 singles play.

Ceres High coasted past Central Catholic, 8-1, on April 8 in Modesto.

Nolan McCaig defeated Conor Fenton 6-1, 6-2 in No. 1 singles play.

Julio Ochoa defeated Chris Huber 6-2, 6-0 in No. 2 singles play.

Harden defeated Conor Garcia 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in No. 3 singles play.

Cortes defeated Daniel Bocks 6-3, 6-2 in No. 4 singles play.

Ruiz defeated Brandan Bedolla 7-5, 6-4 in No. 6 singles play.

Jimenez and Rodriguez defeated Juston Forte and Joseph Minato 6-2, 7-5 in No. 1 doubles play.

Kumar and Majeed defeated Mark Dunn and Andrew Jensen 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-3 in No. 2 doubles play.

Bruno de la Torre and Alex Torres defeated Anthony Tan and Garrett Diederich 6-3, 6-1 in No. 3 singles play.

Mey lost 6-4, 6-1 to Sam Nicholson in No. 5 singles play.

Ceres High shut out host Patterson, 9-0, on April 7.

McCaig defeated Francisco Legarde 6-1, 6-0 in No. 1 singles play.

Harden defeated Dylan Halland 6-3, 6-3 in No. 2 singles play.

Cortes defeated Daniel Cota 6-0, 6-0 in No. 3 singles play.

Mey defeated Matt Valverde 6-1, 6-1 in No. 4 singles play.

Ruiz defeated Damarrio Hammonds 6-3, 6-3 in No. 5 singles play.

Jimenez defeated Chris Carlson 6-1, 6-1 in No. 6 singles play.

Kumar and Majeed defeated Daniel Valverde and Gerardo Ortiz 6-3, 6-1 in No. 1 doubles play.

Phommalinh and de la Torre defeated Kyle Chung and Albert Perez 6-1, 6-0 in No. 2 doubles play.

Torres and Manuel Lazcano defeated Salvador Tello and Angel Barrero 6-0, 6-0 in No. 3 doubles play.

Ceres High has used multiple lineups this year because of injuries, illness and others reasons.

"Everybody on the team has played," Bryan Harden said. "All that does is create depth. Everybody continues to step up."

The Bulldogs are closing in on their second straight undefeated WAC season.

"Every year is different," said coach Harden, whose program has a .949 winning percentage since 2012. "We've had some dominant teams. I've tried to create an environment where kids expect to win. I love the sport. I'm passionate about it. I want more people to play."