The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
For the first time ever, a Wilson tennis team took home CIF gold in 2023. The boys’ program beat Brea Olinda, 12-6, back in May at the Claremont Club, making school history and bringing a third tennis title to Long Beach in as many years.
“I’m really happy for the boys that they can be a part of that, and have something like that to look back on,” said Wilson head coach Nick Medina of his team making history. “I know they deserve it. They worked really hard, they’re really talented, and I think it’s a testament to our captain, Zane Driskill. I told him to get 14 people to all go in the same direction–that’s not an easy thing. They’re so bought into each other and they love each other, and I think that’s the thing that I’m most proud of. They really are a team, and I think that’s probably why we won.”
The Bruins went 9-0 in their doubles matches in the CIF title match, continuing a trend of strong doubles play throughout their playoff run. Driskill and partner Mateo Matta were dominant as the top pair, and No. 3 team Daniel Gerstner and Filip Svrdlan won their matches by a combined score of 18-6. The No. 2 doubles team of Luke Emigh and Jake Paiva came back from down 0-3 in their final match to claim the clinching point for the Bruins.
Sophomore Doug Smith won a pair of singles matches at the No. 1 spot, which helped lead Wilson across the finish line. Sophomores Leo Bauch and Cash Tuck were the other singles players for the Bruins in the final.
Impressively, of the nine players in the lineup, seven were freshmen or sophomores, which indicates a bright future ahead for Wilson tennis.
