It’s the end of an era in Moore League girls’ tennis, as CAMS senior Mandy Oliveros claimed the fourth individual championship of her career on Wednesday afternoon at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center.
The superstar senior completed the career sweep with a 6-0, 6-0 win over CAMS teammate Miki Sakai in a rematch of last year’s singles final. Oliveros and Sakai then joined forces later in the day to defend their Moore League doubles crown, finishing off another memorable day for CAMS Tennis.
Sakai is a talented sophomore for the Coyotes and had another impressive showing in this year’s tournament, but Oliveros was locked in for her final Moore League competition.
“It is really bittersweet,” Oliveros admitted of playing her last Moore League finals. “I wasn’t overthinking it, because I knew that if I did overthink that this is the last time I’ll ever play this kind of match, I would get a little bit tight … Now that it’s over, it’s really hitting me, and I’m just grateful to have had the opportunity to play all these years and come across all these really good competitive players, all these nice girls. It really shaped who I am today.”
Oliveros certainly went out in style, going a perfect 6-0, 6-0 in all four of her singles matches this year, setting a league record that can’t ever be broken.
Having a friendly face on the other side of the net did not slow Oliveros down in her pursuit of another championship. She explained that it adds an additional wrinkle as both players know each other’s strengths and tendencies on the court. The key for Oliveros was to focus on playing her game and not who’s on the other half of the court.
“Usually before matches, in any tournament, no matter who I’m playing, I don’t really think ‘I want to beat my opponent,’ I want to win for myself,” Oliveros explained. “So playing against my teammates, it is a little bit different because I know them. Like Miki, she’s like my little sister, so it’s more like teaching her a lesson while improving upon myself. So a way that this helps me mentally is I know that she knows how I play, but (the challenge is) can I hold up my own when even my opponent knows me more than I know myself?”
Oliveros will continue her playing career at the next level–and continue wearing the blue and white–after committing to the Air Force Academy earlier this year.
In Wednesday’s third-place singles match, Long Beach Poly senior Kara Teter earned a 6-3, 6-0 victory over CAMS senior Saya Nagae to claim the bronze medal.
It was all Coyotes and Jackrabbits in the two doubles finals as well, with Oliveros and Sakai teaming up to take on CAMS teammates Nagae and Sara Rodriguez in the title match. That pairing was a rematch of last year’s final, when Oliveros and Sakai earned the victory. Nagae and Rodriguez are no strangers to this stage; that duo has reached the league doubles finals in all four years of high school, winning the title during both their freshman and sophomore seasons.
But for the second year in a row, it was Oliveros and Sakai winning gold in doubles play, earning a 6-1, 6-2 victory over their fellow Coyotes.
“It’s really exciting,” said Oliveros of her doubles experience. “All four years we’ve been able to compete, and then when Miki came, being able to play with a teammate at the same level–we enjoy being around each other and playing with each other, so it’s been great. I really appreciate this experience and meeting each other here, and even playing against our fellow teammates, it just makes it even more enjoyable.”
As the only non-senior in that final CAMS quartet, Sakai said she has appreciated having such a strong team to play with and learn from in her first two years on campus.
“I'm really grateful to have these seniors with me, because I know it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and these seniors mean so much to me,” the sophomore said. “Next year when they're gone, it's gonna be really sad and I'll feel alone, but I'm glad we had the time that we did. The seniors taught me everything, not just about tennis, but about academics too, and I'm glad that we were able to be close within the tennis team. I'm really grateful for that.”
CAMS coach Attila Lassu reflected on the recent success for the CAMS girls’ tennis program, which has had both the individual and doubles champions for four years running.
“I’m beyond proud, and also very glad that I got to be a part of this era of having these shining stars the past four years,” Lassu said. “This past four years was a special run with these three seniors, and I just wish that we could keep doing the same thing for another year, we just have to accept that four years is the maximum that we can have.”
In the third-place doubles match, two teams of Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits played what was by far the most competitive match of the day. The duo of Megan Lee and Chelsea Ramezani outlasted the pair of Justina Phy and Jazmin Phy by a score of 7-5, 6-7, 10-6.
Both teams will now await the CIF-SS girls’ tennis brackets, which will be released on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. on the CIF website.
