Lewis, McCaig advance to Sac-Joaquin Section Division-I tennis semifinals

Ryan Lewis and Coby McCaig advanced to the semifinal round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Singles Tennis Tournament on Thursday at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club.

Barring rain, the tournament will resume Friday morning with the semifinal and final rounds.

Lewis is the defending champion.

The Beyer High School junior became the first player from the Stanislaus District to win a D-I title since Paul Dilloway of Beyer won three consecutive crowns from 1997-99.

Seeded No. 2 overall, Lewis made quick work of Bear Creek’s Rylan Ladion in the first round, 6-1 and 6-0. He later defeated Jack Shubert of Jesuit in straight sets — 6-4 and 6-1 — to set up a semifinal showdown with a familiar opponent.

“I thought I played decent,” said Lewis, who finished his day with an hour of training at Pacific in Stockton. “I need to practice and work on my consistency.”

Lewis will play two-time Monticello Empire League champion Daniel Mateescu on Friday at 10 a.m. Lewis defeated Mateescu in last year’s semifinal round, 6-2 and 6-4. The reigning All-District Boys Tennis Player of the Year trailed 4-2 in the second set.

Since then, Lewis says he has charted Mateescu’s progress and performance on the tournament circuit, and remains confident he can overpower the Napa High sophomore and return to the final.

A potential rematch of the Modesto Metro Conference singles final is still in play.

McCaig will face top-seeded Arjith Jayaraman of Granite Bay, one of the top 18-and-under players in Northern California, in the other semifinal.

Jayaraman advanced to the semifinal with a three-set victory over 2015 finalist Derek Wadsworth of Armijo, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Only a freshman, McCaig opened the tournament with a straight-sets victory over Logan Sam of Bear Creek, 6-1 and 6-4. He then rallied past Stephen Morley of Jesuit.

Morley won the first set in a tiebreaker, but had nothing left for McCaig in the final two sets. Modesto High’s soft-spoken return specialist won 6-7, 6-0, 6-0.

Lewis made a detour in Stockton Thursday evening to work on his groundstrokes, anticipating a championship-round showdown with either Jayaraman or McCaig.

Both players “play balls back,” Lewis said. “If I can do the same thing, with my power, I can beat them. I just need to work on my groundstrokes. Everything else is fine.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Lewis, McCaig advance to Sac-Joaquin Section Division-I tennis semifinals."