Beyer’s Lewis claims Sac-Joaquin Section D-I boys tennis crown

Ryan Lewis flung his racquet and let out a primal cry, his place in history confirmed with a three-set victory in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I final.

The Beyer sophomore overcame cramps and a 3-1 deficit in the third and final set to clinch a rare title for a player from the southern half of the section.

With a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win over Armijo’s Derek Wadsworth, Lewis became the first player from the Stanislaus District to win a D-I singles title since Paul Dilloway in 1999.

Like Lewis, Dilloway also went to Beyer.

“I’ve been working so hard for this moment since December. I practiced every day, sacrificed my weekends for tournaments, and gave up my winter break to go to the IMG Academy,” Lewis said. “There’s been a lot of hard work and I’m glad I won.”

It wasn’t promised, though.

Wadsworth played Lewis – a heavy hitter at 6-foot-2 and the tournament’s No. 1 seed – like a backboard, extending points and the length of the match. To his credit, Wadsworth is the only player to take a set off Lewis (20-0) this season.

“I haven’t lost a set since November. I wasn’t used to it. I hadn’t played a third set in who knows how long, so I needed to push through,” Lewis said. “I just knew I had to win.”

As the match neared the three-hour mark, it became clear that the winner would be decided by fitness and mental fortitude. Both players buckled under the warm spring sun, leaving a growing crowd in suspense until the end.

Wadsworth got sick during one changeover and Lewis needed a medical timeout in the third set because of cramping in both legs. The set was tied a 5-5 when he found refuge under a tree to stretch.

He rebounded with a championship effort, winning the final two games to clinch the title.

“It’s hard when you lose the second set and now you’re down in momentum,” Beyer coach Mark Gonzales said. “He decided to step it up and played like only Ryan can.”

The victory puts Lewis in position for a historic feat. As Lewis accepted his medal and posed for pictures, Gonzales hinted at his star pupil’s next goal: Not two section titles, but three.

“If he can continue this, if he can do it again and again, it would be impressive,” Gonzales said.

The Stanislaus District nearly celebrated a second singles champion, but Nolan McCaig’s bid for a D-II title was foiled by a lower seed unfazed by the stage or the odds.

Inderkum’s Hermont Lagasti seized the D-II title by defeating the tournament’s top seeds in succession, No. 1 Bryant Johnson of Rio Americano and then Ceres’ McCaig.

Lagasti won each match in straight sets, including a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 decision over McCaig (28-2), the Western Athletic Conference champion and key cog in the Bulldogs’ Division III team title.

“He played a little bit better than me,” McCaig said. “I had my opportunities and I should have taken them. They were there for me at the end.”

McCaig is 0-2 in Division II finals.

Lewis and McCaig reached their respective divisional finals with straight-sets victories in the morning.

Lewis overcame a surge by Napa freshman Daniel Mateescu in the second set.

The Monticello Empire League champion built a 4-2 lead and crowed louder with each point, but couldn’t match Lewis’ unbridled power.

The Modesto Metro Conference champion pushed back, blistering shots down each line. He won the final four games – dropping his racquet and pumping both fists at the finish – to clinch a berth in the finals against Wadsworth.

Playing on the same side of the complex, with only two courts separating one another, McCaig made quick work of Kimball’s Garrett Chun in his semifinal.

McCaig won 6-3 and 6-4, avenging a loss to the Valley Oak League champion in the semifinal round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III team tournament.

The match was tied 3-3 in the first set when McCaig held serve. He never looked back.

His athleticism proved the difference.

Spry and fleet of foot, McCaig seized many of their long exchanges with his ability to track down almost every ball.

Even those he didn’t win generated a roar and applause from the crowd. During one point, McCaig raced corner to corner, sliding into a split each time.

“That’s what my kid does better than anybody else,” Ceres coach Bryan Harden said.

Manteca’s Yok Jing Ma and Mike Lopez became just the second doubles team in school history to reach a section final with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Bella Vista’s Jovan Gojkovich and Cody Blanford. Once there, though, Ma and Lopez were overwhelmed by a section heavyweight.

Rio Americano’s Sarthak Saxena and Jack Lonergan captured the D-II title with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. For Lonergan, the doubles championship was his second in a row.

“Always the bridesmaid,” Manteca coach Frank Fontana said, referring to a three-set loss in the 2008 Division II doubles final.

Enochs’ Jordan Hayashi and Sohun Panchal were eliminated in their D-I semifinal, 6-4 and 6-3.

This story was originally published May 19, 2015 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Beyer’s Lewis claims Sac-Joaquin Section D-I boys tennis crown."