Heading into Wednesday’s season opener at home against Rincon/University, the Nogales High School boys tennis team knew they’d have their hands full.
“Rincon generally has a pretty good team. So (Wednesday’s match) will be a really good test for us to see how good this team is,” Coach Rudy Molera said on Tuesday.
As it turned out, the Apaches passed the test, narrowly defeating the Rangers 5-4 after splitting six singles matches and taking two of three doubles contests.
Gabriel Corella won the No. 2 singles match 4-6, 6-1, 10-8; Gustavo Acosta swept the No. 3 match 6-0, 6-2; and Jose Rubio won the No. 6 contest 6-3, 6-2.
Corella and Gonzalo Armenta then took the No. 2 doubles match 8-2, and Rubio and Jacob Molera won No. 3 doubles by the same 8-2 margin.
The Apaches had their 2020 season cut short after only three matches due to the coronavirus pandemic. They finished 2-1.
As the returning players awaited the chance to start playing again, they were hindered by the fact that the city closed its tennis courts to the public. Eventually the courts reopened last fall.
“Most of these guys did play the last three or four months, so that’s good to see,” Molera said of his team’s offseason preparation.
Three of Nogales’ top six players from 2020 are back this season, including senior captain Emilio Heredia, who made the leap from being the team’s No. 4 singles player to being its No. 1.
Molera called him “probably one of my most competitive and smartest players,” and praised his leadership qualities.
“Emilio has developed a really strong serve. He’s a well-rounded player. He’s got really good ground strokes and he’s got a really powerful forehand and is not afraid to use it,” Molera said.
Fellow senior and varsity veteran Corella is in the No. 2 singles position after playing at No. 3 a year ago.
“Gabriel takes more risks on his shots. He’s very athletic, he’s super quick. He reminds me of a cat. He can get to balls you don’t think people are going to get to,” Molera said. “It’s exciting to watch him play, and every now and then, he’ll hit some really quirky shots.”
Acosta, a junior who played in the No. 6 singles spot last year, moved up three positions to start the 2021 campaign.
“Gustavo is another real good athlete and he’s very competitive. He’s worked really hard during the offseason to get to where he is,” his coach said.
Armenta, a sophomore, is at No. 4, and the coach’s son Jacob Molera, a returning senior, is in the fifth spot. Rounding out the top six is Jose Rubio, a junior.
In all, the Apaches have 13 players on their roster to start the season.
“I’ve got some guys that are playing seven and eight that won’t be playing varsity (on Wednesday), but they’ll be competing,” Molera said, adding:
“You know what’s great about this whole team? The whole team is highly academic, too. They’re all smart kids, they’re all honor students, so that’s also a big plus.”
Asked about the team’s goal for the season, he said: “We typically try and our goal is to reach the top four in the state every year, and generally we finish in the top 10. And that’s our goal this year.”
Nogales is next set to play on March 23 at Flowing Wells. They’ll host Salpointe on March 25.