Newcomers to Ceres High’s varsity boys tennis program, Sameed Kahloon and Hassan Imran competed at the Western Athletic Conference Singles Championships on April 15 in Ceres.

Kahloon and Imran both posted 1-1 records while finishing among the top-eight players.

“They definitely exceeded my expectations,” Bulldogs’ first-year coach David Ortiz said. “They got better as the season went along. I’m surprised they caught on as quickly as they did. I worked them pretty hard.”

Kahloon defeated Pacheco’s Luis Gaxiola 6-1, 6-3 in the first round.

He lost 6-2, 6-3 to Los Banos’ Will Marchese in the quarterfinals.

Kahloon amassed a 3-13 record against WAC competition this season.

Imran defeated Johansen’s Fabian Ramirez 6-0, 6-3 in the opening round.

He lost 6-1, 6-1 to Mountain House’s Jonah Linsangan in the quarterfinals.

Imran went 5-10 against conference opponents.

“They played really well in the first round,” Ortiz said. “They stepped up their game. They executed what I was telling them to do.”

A successful run

Ceres High had two doubles teams finish in the top eight at the WAC Tournament on April 18 in Ceres.

“I’m happy,” coach Ortiz said. “I didn’t know how they were going to do. They hadn’t played doubles before.”

Hassan Imran and Sameed Kahloon topped Lathrop’s Ritchie Blase and Matthew Schusk 6-1, 7-5 in the opening round.

They lost 6-1, 6-1 to Mountain House’s Jonah Linsangan and Shuv Chakravarty in the quarterfinals.

Imran and Kahloon had success because they communicated.

“They listened to each other,” Ortiz said.

Hamza Ikram and Taymour Aadil defeated Beyer’s David Wong and Jacob Manalo 0-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the opening round.

Ikram and Aadil lost 6-2, 6-4 to Los Banos’ Will Marchese and Ethan Machado in the quarterfinals.

“They’re really good friends, too,” he said. “They just gel. They’re almost like family.”

“They day before the tournament, we had practice,” Ortiz added. I had them (Imran, Kahloon, Ikram and Taymour) do different drills that helped them win in the first round. I told them to play to their strengths. I had such a good time working with those guys this year. They were jokesters.”