Playoff preview: Verhoeven making history on new court; swimmers eye State

The Sac-Joaquin Section postseason calendar is beginning to build steam.

The main attractions – baseball and softball tournaments – won’t begin for another week, but there is still plenty to sink your teeth into.

Manteca High chases two firsts Thursday: the tennis team looks to capture its first blue banner, while boys volleyball, equipped with basketball and football stars, guns for its first playoff win.

Swimming will take us through the weekend. The best of the best will converge on Tokay High Thursday through Sunday for the Sac-Joaquin Section Swim Championships. Once again, the district is expected to make waves.

Here’s a closer look at this week’s playoff competitions:

Team Tennis

Division III

Who: Manteca vs. River City

When: Thursday, 3:30 p.m.

Where: University of the Pacific Tennis Center

At stake: The Buffaloes are in a section final for the second time in three years under coach Frank Fontana. Manteca lost to Ceres in the 2015 final, but avenged that loss in Monday’s semifinal. The Buffaloes dominated doubles play en route to a 6-3 victory and improved to 17-6 overall. The winning pairings included Dhillon Patel and Kevin Lin, Jake Tolbert and Cameron Gonzales, and Robert Foo and Niko Plares, all of whom won in straight sets. … The Buffaloes are 0-2 in section finals. They also lost to Central Catholic in the D-II final in 1988. … River City, which handled Livingston in its semifinal, is the defending D-III champion.

Volleyball

Division II

Who: No. 2 Golden Valley, No. 4 Patterson, No. 9 Merced, No. 12 Ceres

When: Tuesday (first round) and Thursday (second round), 7 p.m.

Where: Home sites

At stake: Central California Conference champion Golden Valley has a first-round bye and will host the winner of No. 7 El Camino-No. 10 Rio Linda on Thursday. Three Stanislaus District teams open Tuesday. Patterson will host No. 13 Florin on Tuesday, while Merced travels to Tracy to face No. 8 Kimball of the Valley Oak League. Ceres ventures to No. 5 Burbank.

Division III

Who: No. 4 Manteca, No. 5 Hilmar, No. 7 Stone Ridge Christian, No. 10 Los Banos

When: Tuesday (first round) and Thursday (second round), 7 p.m.

Where: Home sites

At stake: Success follows Manteca’s Tydus Verhoeven, a 6-foot-8 senior who has committed to Duquesne University to play basketball. Fresh off an MVP performance at the 6 County All-Star Basketball Game, Verhoeven will lead the Buffaloes into the section volleyball tournament. His height and athleticism transition perfectly to volleyball, where the Buffaloes captured the inaugural Valley Oak League title. Manteca is a No. 4 seed and will play the winner of Hilmar-No. 12 Lodi Academy Thursday at Winter Gym. … The Yellowjackets have beaten four playoff teams from the Stanislaus District, including: Patterson, Merced, Los Banos and Ceres. That confidence could serve Hilmar well, especially if it has to go on the road to Manteca. … Stone Ridge Christian won the Central California Athletic Alliance and will host Los Banos. The winner will travel to No. 2 Christian Brothers.

Swimming

What: Sac-Joaquin Section Swim Championships

When: Trials, Thursday (girls) and Friday (boys); final, Saturday

Where: Tokay High in Lodi

At stake: Ripon junior Ty Wells, Downey senior Kyle White and Gregori senior Andrew Britton carry the torch for the Stanislaus District. All three have a chance to emerge section champions. Wells will swim the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke, while White, a State-caliber sprinter and Cal Baptist commit, will experiment with the 200 freestyle and 100 fly. Britton, the All-District Water Polo Player of the Year, will compete in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. Well is looking to do what even two-time All-District Swimmer of the Year Scott Tolman could not – clinch a third straight State berth. The top-three in each event and those that post qualifying times will advance to the CIF State Swim and Dive Championships. Last season, Sierra’s Scott Tolman and Gregori’s Christian Britton led the strong local contingent down to Clovis for State. Tolman repeated as The Bee’s top swimmer thanks to his performance at State. Now a prolific freshman at Cal Baptist, Tolman was second in the 100-yard breaststroke and third in the 200 individual medley. One day later, he posted an Olympic Trials cut in the 200 breaststroke. … Ripon distance swimmer Mallory Brubaker (500 free) and teammate Elizabeth Wenner (50 and 100 free) will set the pace for the girls at sections. Tolman’s younger sister, Megan Tolman (200 IM, 100 breast), and Manteca’s Matthew Trejo (200 IM, 100 fly) have a shot to win frosh/soph section titles.

This story was originally published May 8, 2017 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Playoff preview: Verhoeven making history on new court; swimmers eye State."