Ceres High School's varsity boys tennis team captured its third consecutive Western Athletic Conference title this past week.

The visiting Bulldogs secured the WAC's No. 1 playoff seed with an 8-1 victory against crosstown-rival Central Valley on April 14.

Ceres High improved to 26-0 on the year and finished undefeated in WAC play (12-0) for the second year in a row.

The Bulldogs also notched their 31st consecutive league win.

"It's pretty cool," said Alick Liang, Ceres High's No. 3 singles player. "We win a lot. But we work hard. Our team is so strong because we're deep."

The Hawks (9-3) tied for second place in the WAC standings with Central Catholic. The two teams will play a tiebreaker match on April 28 to determine the conference's No. 2 and 3 playoff seeds.

The Bulldogs won all six singles and two of three doubles matches versus the Hawks.

Liang beat Central Valley's Edgar Castillo in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

Nolan McCaig beat Alexis Zigala 6-0, 6-0 in No. 1 singles play.

Julio Ochoa beat Alexis Villa 6-0, 6-0 in No. 2 singles play.

Chase Harden beat Eric Morales 6-0, 6-1 in No. 4 singles play.

Rene Cortes beat Brandyn Weis 6-0, 6-1 in No. 5 singles play.

Jordan Mey outlasted Gerardo Rivas 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in No. 6 singles play.

Juan Jimenez and Shane Kumar beat Ruben Morales and Nimrit Chahal 6-0, 6-4 in No. 1 doubles play.

Jorge Ruiz and Waleed Majeed beat Jesus Cuevas and Navjot Kanda 6-4, 6-1 in No. 3 doubles play.

Heath Adrian and Dennis Phommalinh lost 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 to Central Valley's Jorge Bustos and Oscar Gomez in No. 2 doubles play.

"We have a great team," McCaig said. "We play every single match like it's our last."

Ceres High improved its all-time record against Central Valley to 16-0.

The Bulldogs will participate in the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

The Hawks will make their first-ever postseason appearance.

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

"We're successful in this area," Liang said. "Winning a section title will boost our recognition. We're not really acknowledged. Tennis is not that popular of a sport at Ceres High. Even my friends don't know how good we are."