Beyer’s Lewis, Ceres’ McCaig vie for Sac-Joaquin Section tennis titles

Their names have been linked together in “best of” conversations for years now.

Today, could be a defining moment in those discussions.

Beyer High’s Ryan Lewis and Ceres High’s Nolan McCaig will compete in the semifinal rounds of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I and II individual tournaments, respectively, at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville.

Jordan Hayashi and Sohun Panchal of Enochs will also be in action, vying for a Division I doubles title. The semifinals get underway at 10 a.m.

Lewis is the odds-on favorite to become the first player from the southern half of the section to win a D-I singles crown in the new millennium.

The Modesto Metro Conference champion and No. 1 overall seed will face Napa’s Daniel Mateescu.

Lewis will look to overwhelm Mateescu with his power and precision.

“Usually what I do in any match is stay extremely consistent for those first three or four games,” he said, “and then after that, if I’m winning 3-0 or 4-0, I’ll start going for lines or hitting the ball harder.”

Stephen Guenard of Pleasant Grove and Derek Wadsworth of Armijo square off in the other semifinal.

Lewis (18-0) is confident — the byproduct of his time spent at the IMG Academy in Florida and multiple USTA tournament wins — but keenly aware of the stakes.

A player from the southern half of the section hasn’t won a D-I singles championships since Beyer’s Paul Dilloway in 1999.

A 16-year-old collecting interest from California, Stanford, Southern Cal, Harvard, Princeton and Yale could end that drought on Tuesday.

“I’m excited yet nervous, just because if I do win then I would be making history,” Lewis said.

“I’ve been in many situations like this before,” he later added. “I have to pretend it’s another match that I’m playing and not make it such a big deal — even though it is.”

McCaig has a much tougher path to the Division II final.

His semifinal opponent offers him a rare chance at redemption.

Kimball’s Garrett Chun ousted McCaig during a semifinal loss to the Bulldogs in the semifinal round of the first-ever Division III team tournament.

In that match, Chun rallied from a set down, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.

“He’s got to be aggressive when it’s time to be aggressive,” Ceres coach Bryan Harden said. “He’s going to have to play some defense, because Garrett is a really aggressive player. That’s what happened in the last match. He was very aggressive.”

McCaig rebounded from the loss, setting an early tone in the Bulldogs’ 5-4 victory over Manteca High in the final of the D-III tournament.

In a battle of No. 1s, McCaig pummeled Manteca’s Yok Jing Ma, barking at himself between each point.

“Let’s go!”

For Harden, that was good to see and hear. So much of what it takes to win this late in the season is mental, not physical.

“I’m hoping he’s got his swag back,” Harden said. “He’s going to need that for this tournament. Even if he gets by Garrett, he’ll have a top-rated player to play in the finals.”

The Division II field is widely considered the toughest of the two draws, largely because of the shadow cast by the top seed, 6-foot-2 Bryant Johnson of Rio Americano.

“He’s not built like a typical high school tennis player,” Harden said. “He’s a big kid with powerful legs. He’s solid muscle.”

Johnson flexed that muscle in the quarterfinal round, snapping Ceres’ bid to have two in Tuesday's semifinal. Johnson topped Julio Ochoa, a former Modesto Bee Player of the Year forced to serve underhand because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

Johnson will tangle with Inderkum’s Hermont Lagasti.

“He’s very competitive,” Harden said of McCaig. “I think the biggest thing with him, and it’s true of any top-level player, is the mindset. If his head is right, he’ll be fine. That’s the biggest thing. It’s all upstairs.”

This story was originally published May 18, 2015 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Beyer’s Lewis, Ceres’ McCaig vie for Sac-Joaquin Section tennis titles."