The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Los Osos comes up short in D1 final
CLAREMONT >> Gilbert Delgadillo laid out a few goals when he took over the Los Osos girls tennis program this season.
“I just want to elevate the sport of girls tennis because we don’t get the visibility and attention like other sports do,” Delgadillo said. “We wanted to take this program to an even greater level and let everybody know who Los Osos is.”
Los Osos made history by advancing to a CIF Southern Section title match for the first time in program history. And while the Grizzlies did not get the finish they wanted — a 10-8 loss to Tesoro in the Division 1 championship match at The Claremont Club on Friday — there still was plenty to celebrate this season.
“It has been a great experience. I really love this team,” said Shukan Parikh, the team’s top singles players. “Everyone did so great, the singles and the doubles, and we had a team spirit that pushed us through a long season.”
Los Osos (22-1) was the division’s top seed but came across a Tesoro team that hit its peak during the playoffs. Tesoro was the No. 7-ranked team, but the Titans pulled out four straight 10-8 victories to claim the championship.
Tesoro (15-5) picked up six points in singles, with Karah Li and Aditi Patel both registering sweeps. Los Osos, on the other hand, showed its strength in doubles, with Jessica Dong and Makayla Vo posting a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 sweep.
The match was tied at three following the opening rotation. Kaylee Lopez posted a 6-0 victory at No. 3 singles for Los Osos, while Jodean Millan and Mia Vo prevailed 6-1 to capture their first doubles set of the match.
Tesoro took a 7-5 lead after the second rotation. That round produced one of the most memorable showdowns of the Division 1 championship match.
Parikh went toe-to-toe with Li, who is one of the top singles players in the Southern Section. Parikh held serve to start things off, the first game Li dropped in the match. And the set was still on serve with Li leading 4-3.
“I have played her before and I just felt like I had nothing to lose,” Parikh said of facing Li. “Because of that, I was able to play freely . ... It was a fun match.”