Central Valley is fielding its largest boys tennis team to date this spring.
The Hawks have a roster size of 40 student-athletes, up from last season’s total of 27.
“It shocked me,” head coach Nimrat Chahal said. “We expected 25 to 30 players like past years. We have so many kids. It’s kind of crazy. It’s an army out there. It’s hard to practice with that many kids.”
Central Valley returns 14 players from a year ago, including Alex Aguilar (Sr.), Osvaldo Cisneros (Sr.), Avori Ortega (Sr.), Silas Rodriguez (Sr.), Blake Silva (Sr.), Jaylan Tagadaya (Sr.), Andrew Arevalo (Jr.), Andres Botero (Jr.), Simardeep Malhi (Jr.), Abram Munguia (Jr.), Roman Parodi (Jr.), Sahib Patter (Jr.), Joshua Rubio (Jr.) and Gurtaj Saran (So.).
The Hawks’ top newcomers are Cristian Gudino (Jr.), Adrian Santibanez (Jr.), Leonardo Navarro (Jr.), Isaiah Tapia (So.) and Adriel Padilla (Fr.).
Central Valley lost just three players to graduation: Anantah Sivongxay, Darien Pongbandith and Emmanuel Carranza.
“We’re going to be good because we return almost every singles player,” Chahal said. “Our doubles kids are very athletic. They play other sports.”
Ortega and Tagadaya are team leaders.
“They’re harder workers,” Chahal said. “They hold the other kids accountable.”
The Hawks’ starting lineup features Ortega, Rodriguez, Parodi, Cisneros, Aguilar, Tagadaya, Silva, Rubio, Munguia, Saran, Malhi and Patter.
Ortega, Rodriguez, Parodi, Cisneros, Aguilar and Tagadaya are singles players.
Silva, Rubio, Munguia, Saran, Malhi and Patter will contribute at doubles.
Botero, Arevalo, Gudino, Santibanez, Navarro, Tapia and Padilla are reserve players.
Ortega and Silva earned second-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors as juniors.
Ortega compiled a 5-6 record while splitting playing time at No. 2 and 3 singles in WAC play.
A newcomer to tennis, Silva contributed at all three doubles spots throughout the year.
Silva posted a 7-3 record while teaming up with Carranza.
Silas Rodriguez posted a 5-6 record in conference play junior year.
He started at No. 3 singles the majority of the 2025 season.
“We’re very solid throughout our lineup,” Chahal said. “We have a bunch of seniors.”
Chahal has two assistant coaches, including fellow Central Valley teachers Mike Rodriguez and Grant McCormick.
“Numbers are never going to be an issue,” Chahal said. “We’re on campus. We always tell them (players) to recruit their friends.”
Central Valley will play home and away matches against Beyer, Grace Davis, Johansen, Lathrop, Livingston and Pacheco during the WAC season.
Crosstown-rival Ceres High will not field a boys tennis team this spring due to a lack of interest.
“A lot of teams in our league are struggling with numbers,” Chahal said. “We will always be able to field a team. We get a lot of kids that have never played a sport. Groups of friends join together. They want to try tennis. They start to like the sport. They have fun and socialize. They come back as better players.”
The Hawks amassed a 4-6 record en route to a fourth-place finish in the league standings last season.
Lathrop (10-0), Beyer (8-2) and Grace Davis (6-4), Livingston (2-8) and Johansen (0-10) took first, second, third, fifth and sixth, respectively.
The top three teams in the WAC qualify for playoffs.
“I’m confident,” Chahal said. “We have a chance at winning our first league title. It would be a surprise if we didn’t make playoffs.”
Central Valley enjoyed its last winning season in 2022.
The Hawks returned to the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs following a six-year absence, compiled an 8-5 overall record and won eight of 12 matches while finishing in third place in the Central California Conference.
“We’re going to make playoffs this season,” Chahal said. “We’re senior-heavy. We have a lot of four-year players.”
