Ceres High School's varsity boys tennis team enjoyed a banner year in 2013.

The Bulldogs, 30-2 on the year, brought home a second-place trophy from the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II Tournament.

Ceres High also won its second consecutive Western Athletic Conference title.

Junior Alick Liang and senior Gurman Bains reached the pinnacle of their sport by finishing first among 15 doubles teams at the Division-II Championships on May 3 at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville.

"This has never happened before," head coach Bryan Harden said. "It's a big achievement. I didn't expect that. I thought we'd win two or three matches. We were definitely a dark horse even though we were seeded second."

Liang and Bains defeated American Canyon's M. Aquino and C. Adona 6-4, 7-6 in the finals.

Alick and Gurman also beat Manteca's Y. Ma and A. Tejada (3-6, 6-3, 6-4), Central Catholic's G. Ardis and J. Chavez (7-5, 6-3) and McClatchy's K. Ginnell and S. Zharkov (6-4, 7-5).

"They didn't play their best tennis until the last match," Harden said. "They did what they had to do to win."

Julio Ochoa had a near-perfect sophomore season with the Bulldogs.

Ochoa reeled off 27 straight wins before tasting defeat.
Julio lost 6-0, 6-0 to top-seeded Sean Alves of Casa Robles in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II Individual Singles Tournament last month at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club.

"Obviously, he had a tough draw," coach Harden said. "He still should have done better. He definitely did not play his best tennis."

Ochoa won his second straight WAC singles crown and MVP award.

"He made incredible progress from last year to this year," Bryan Harden said. "He's definitely on the right track."