The left-handed player wearing a white T-shirt, black shorts and sneakers that match the same color as the tennis ball, swung his racquet to push the ball in the opponent’s side of the court.

The opponent missed the ball. Game point to Richard Catabona.

Catabona, 19, is one of the top tennis players in the state. He has been undefeated throughout the regular season.

This led him to be No. 1 in the Western State Conference tournament, according to Pierce College’s tennis coach, Rajeev Datt.

Catabona was also ranked fourth in the 113th Annual Ojai Valley Tournament during the last weekend  of April. He made it to the quarterfinals, only to be knocked out by Ventura College’s Victor Mendes in straight sets.

Even with the loss, Catabona made an impact on his teammates.

“I wish I could hit one shot as well as he hits all shots,” Teammate Eitan Fattal said. “I can see the way he plays is just so much better than anything that I know of. He’s that outstanding.”

Aaron Goodwein, another teammate, was impressed by Catabona’s playing style.

“He has good perspective,” Goodwein said. “He really thinks outside the box as far as analyzing how people play and using his strengths against them.”

Catabona could continue his dominance on the tennis court when he transfers to University of California, Los Angeles, but the pre-med major has decided to put down the racquet to focus on his studies.

Coming from a big tennis family, it was destined that Catabona would be bound to do the same.

“I was trained by my dad since I was 4,” Catabona said. “I have two brothers. They’re both upcoming tennis players as well.”

Starting at a young age gave Catabona the chance to compete in many individual events.

“I was in the USTA [United States Tennis Association],” Catabona said. “I played locally and nationally.”

Catabona continued by saying that traveling nationally with the USTA led him to states such as Alabama, Nevada, and New Jersey.

During his senior year at Van Nuys High School, Catabona won the California Interscholastic Federation Los Angeles City Section individual title in three sets. He was also awarded with the Sportsman award that year to add to his collection of trophies.

“I have over 40 tennis tournament trophies,” Catabona said with a chuckle. “They are just laying [around], getting dusty.”

Even with all the success, Catabona has suffered some setbacks. He suffered a fracture in his knee that resulted in him having two screws in his knee.

The injury may have slowed him down at 13, but the result could have ended his tennis career.

“I actually missed a growth plate by two millimeters,” Catabona explains. “If that growth plate was hit, I wouldn’t be able to run again.”

Catabona credits Datt, who he’s known for three years, for getting him into better shape to go onto the court.

“He’s also given me a lot of mental tricks that I can use on the court,” Catabona said. “He’s just a really good coach.”

Datt has seen Catabona’s progression, through matches and private lessons, that he’s given him the nickname, “Breadsticks.”

“We named him that because he tends to get pretty good wins,” Datt said. “He wins his matches, 6-1, 6-1, and that’s breadsticks.”

Despite the losing record, Catabona does not want to stop cheering for his teammates.

“I feel that these guys are underachieving,” Catabona said. “But I would give anything, even underachievement, to watch these guys fight.”

With the season over, Catabona said that we wouldn’t join another team in the future because of the people he has met on the team.

“No one would compare,” Catabona said. “I believe that this team is like a family.”

Fattal agrees with Catabona because they had such a small team this season.

“This is a family. A dysfunctional family, but families that are dysfunctional still love each other,” Fattal said. “I’ve become close friends with most of the guys on the team, especially Richard.”

The family dynamic is so strong that his teammates respect his decision to not continue playing tennis.

“It’s his choice,” Goodwein said. “He has loads of talent on the court and loads of talent in the classroom. He has priorities, and I respect that.”

Fattal thinks that his decision speaks a lot about his character as a person.

“I think he’s a highly competitive person,” Fattal said. “As soon as he gets something else, he’ll just attack that same thing with whatever sort of rigor he plays tennis with.”

Catabona may be putting away his tennis gear next year, but he still has that competitive nature for the sport.

“Being in the top four, it’s supposed to make me feel accomplished,” Catabona said. “But unless I get No. 1, I’m not going to be satisfied.”

Pierce automatically lost a set in both singles and a doubles match due to the absence of a player, according to Pierce College head coach Rajeev Datt.

Datt did not wish to comment on the reasoning behind that player’s absence.

The Brahmas may have had a lowered moral due to the absence of their teammate, according to Datt.

“The reason we only have five players is private,” said Datt. “But, it’s a learning experience for us right now.”

Although Pierce’s tennis team did lose most of the singles matches, top player Richard Catabona, won both sets of his singles match against Rafael Da Luz, 6-2 and 6-0.

“I’d say he [opponent] is one of the top players in So Cal,” said Catabona. “So, I’m very happy with my overall performance today.”

The Laser’s women tennis team head coach, Amber Vann, was filling in for the men’s tennis team head coach, Ross Duncan, and seemed very pleased with her team’s overall victory.

“I think we did pretty well today,” said Vann. “We traveled pretty far to get here so I think everyone gave it what they had and more.”

Head coach Vann only had positive comments on Pierce’s tennis team.

“They [Pierce College] hung in there and they played well,” said Vann. “Overall they are a pretty solid team and they are very fair.”

Although Pierce lost, head coach Datt was happy for Catabona’s victory and felt that  even though the Brahmas are progressing, they should have better attitudes on the tennis court.

“Wins and losses in tennis are basically irrelevant,” said Datt. “Tennis is a tool to teach you how to live your life and if you go through life with your head hanging low, its not going to go well. That is what I’m trying to teach the players.”

In the doubles match, Pierce College lost both games against Irvine Valley College 2-8.

“In doubles we were out-gunned today,” said Catabona.“I didn’t play doubles but the team didn’t have much more spirit because we had already lost the singles games.”

Head coach Datt also had comments on the doubles match.

“My guys have a long way to go before they learn how to play doubles,” said Datt. “They’re still trying to figure out how to work a point in singles. Doubles is a whole different animal.”

The singles and doubles match ended sooner than expected because of the automatic defaults.

The Pierce Tennis team will play their next match against Mt. San Jacinto College on Tuesday April 2 at the Mt. San Jacinto College tennis courts.

Both Alex Kokonis and Nathan Crosby got into verbal confrontations with Glendale’s assistant coach Chris Tissot.

Kokonis said a derogatory term as well as a homophobic slur to Tissot during his singles match in the first set.

Apparently, the ball landed out of bounds. Tissot either cheered for his player or made a comment about the play that bothered Kokonis.

After Kokonis’ outburst, Tissot informed the referee about the dispute. The official spoke with Kokonis and allowed him to stay in the game.

Tissot and head coach Bob MacKay were visually upset about the official’s decision.

The official explained to them that he cannot throw the player out of the match because he did not hear the comment himself.

“I can’t hold him for it unless I see it,” the official told the coaches repeatedly.

Crosby’s conflict came in the doubles match. Once again, a ball apparently went out of bounds and Tissot was there to call it out.

Crosby was not happy with the call and lost his cool. He allegedly shouted at Tissot using profane language.

The official was at the next court and heard the comments. He walked over to Crosby’s court and started talking about certain codes that need to be followed during a tennis match.

Crosby was apparently given a verbal warning and the match resumed. After the game point ended, Crosby walked by Tissot and said some more words to him. Tissot uncomfortably laughed off the comment as the official made the ejection gesture towards Crosby.

Pierce College’s Tennis Coach Rajeev Datt ran over to his player to find out what was going on. He evidently had a few words with Crosby to find out what was going on. Datt went to the official to reason with him.

Crosby was able to stay in the match. Tissot appeared to have not been happy with the official’s decision and argued with him once again. Datt went over to Tissot to allegedly tell him to stop talking to his players. Tissot insisted that he was only cheering on his players.

Datt responded, “You’re only antagonizing them, Chris. Stop antagonizing them.”

Datt was too upset and distracted to comment about the incidents, as well as the match. The two players, as well as the rest of the team, could not be reached for comments. The team was in a rush after the match due to their travelling plans that night to Fresno for the weekend’s matches.

Assistant Coach Tissot, as well as Coach MacKay, could not be reached for comment since they left directly after the match.

The team was a little nervous about going into the match after last Thursday’s match-up with SBCC, where they lost 7-2.

“I didn’t think we were gonna do any damage to Santa Barbara,” Richard Catabona, Pierce tennis player, said. “But we put a dent in their team.”

The Vaqueros’ head coach, Lance Kronberg, was proud of his team’s performance, but also felt that this team was a little beaten up.

“We had a slow start,” Kronberg said. “We’re not used to playing in this heat and the courts were fast. But both teams played very well today.”

The scheduled 2 p.m. start time for the match was delayed about 20 minutes due to Santa Barbara arriving at Pierce a little late, according to Pierce tennis coach Rajeev Datt.

The singles matches finished a little quicker than previous matches. Most Brahma players did not win past three games.

After their own matches, whether they won or lost, the Pierce teammates gathered around Court #4 to watch the beginning of Alex Kokonis’ third set.

The players cheered and yelled when Kokonis made a great play. One winning point, that was due to Kokonis’ powerful forehand, caused the entire team to literally jump out of their seats in amazement.

It’s quite common to hear encouragement throughout the matches. Players will say, “Let’s go, Brahmas!” or “Let’s fight, Brahmas!” Mostly, players yell out their other teammates’ names to keep them focused.

According to Catabona, cheering for his teammates is just a natural thing.

“When the guys cheer for me, it heightens my game,” Catabona said. “So I just want to provide the same support to my players.”

Datt said that he noticed his players cheering and wants them to do it louder.

“[A big] part of intimidation is noise,” Datt said. “[You] gotta get louder to support your teammates.”

During Kokonis’ match, Kronberg saw the Brahmas root and cheer loudly to their teammate., while his players were scattered around the court and were not cheering as much.

“[Kronberg] was walking up and down to his players saying, ‘So-and-so, I can’t hear you,’” Datt said. “All of us coaches know what our players need to do [to support the team.]”

Despite the lost, Catabona believes there are better things to come for the Pierce tennis team.

“We’re just gonna have to keep fighting,” Catabona said. “We started off terribly. But, hey, we’re showing some promise here now. I think the team’s just gonna get better from here on.”

Singles:

Richard Catabona (PIERCE) def. Fabian Lundberg (Santa Barbara), 6-1, 6-2

Carlo Bierbaum (SBCC) def. Eitan Fattal (LAPC), 6-1, 6-3

Marius Moelsgaard (SBCC) def. Aaron Goodwein (LAPC), 6-2, 6-0

Alex Kokonis (LAPC) def. Eduardo Baccini (SBCC), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

Soufiane El Mhamdi (SBCC) def. Nathan Crosby (LAPC), 6-3, 6-1

Daniel Barrington (SBCC) def. Kevin Nam (LAPC), 6-0, 6-2

Doubles:

R. Catabona/E. Fattal (LAPC) def. E. Baccini/D. Barrington (SBCC), 8-6

F. Lundberg/M. Moelsgaard (SBCC) def. A. Goodwein/A. Kokonis (LAPC), 8-5

S. El Mhamdi/C. Bierbaum (SBCC) def. N. Crosby/ K. Nam (LAPC), 8-1

http://info.piercecollege.edu/departments/athletics/Tennis.html

http://cccaasports.org/tennis/men/

The Brahmas have had a rough start to the season, already losing three matches, making this game their fourth loss.

Even though these are friendly matches, they count toward the team’s total ranking, said head coach Rajeev Datt.

Datt attributes the team’s constant losses to their lack of preparation.

“They are not professionals, but they have to learn about professionalism and preparation, and this means not showing an hour ahead of the match and saying, ‘I have time to warm up,’ because warming up your body is one thing, but getting your mind and your spirit warmed up takes more than an hour,” Datt said.

Top player Richard Catabona, who faced San Diego Mesa’s James Tenbroeck, turned out to be the only victor in the singles matches for Pierce, but had a hard fought victory, according to Datt.

“He literally came straight from his chemistry lab. He played without a warm up, and he still made it work, “said Datt. “I am really proud of him. He hung in there mentally.”

Catabona won the first set 6-3, lost the second set 4-6, and won the third set 6-4.

“The guy I played fought really hard. Even though his skill level was a little lower, he managed to dig down deep and I really managed to make him play 110 percent,” Catabona said. “My problem in that match was that I was playing too aggressive. Sometimes you need to match the player’s level and just play his game.”

The team is trying really hard to achieve more said Catabona.

“We are at zero percent for winning right now. I wish the team could’ve pulled off some wins, but you know they’ll keep trying. As along as they keep fighting, I’ll be fine with that,” said Catabona.

Gleb Bilyalov, player for San Diego Mesa College, was very proud with his teams performance and their win, considering that Pierce beat them last year.

“We know they are a good team … but we were just trying to play our game the best way we could,” said Bilyalov. “I don’t know [why] they are a little rusty.”

The Pierce tennis team is set to play Santa Barbara City College at home on Tuesday 2 p.m.

Singles:

Richard Catabona (Pierce) vs James Tenbroeck (San Diego Mesa) 6-3, 6-4.

Aaron Goodwein vs Giordano Valdez (SDM), 6-1, 6-1.

Eitan Fattal vs Connor Eck (SDM), 6-1, 6-3.

Nathan Crosby vs Christopher Bastardi (SDM), 6-3, 6-0.

Alex Kokonis vs Alex Abbuhl (SDM), 6-0, 6-0.

Kevin Nam vs Sean Lee (SDM), 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles:

R. Catabona/E. Fattal (Pierce-Winner) vs G. Valdez/ A. Abbuhl (SDM), 8-5.

A. Goodwein/A. Kokonis (Pierce) vs J. Tenbroeck /S. Lee (SDM), 8-4.

N. Crosby/ K. Nam (Pierce) vs C. Eck/ C. Bastardi (SDM Winner), 8-1.

Ventura is the most challenging opponent the Brahmas have faced, and will meet again, this season. Ventura went into the match undefeated led by their top player, Tom Douglas, who has not lost a match season.

“I saw my guys [go] into the match feeling they didn’t have a prayer to win,” Pierce College’s tennis coach Rajeev Datt said. “To me, I thought we had a pretty darn good shot at winning matches. This could have been a much closer match than it was.”

Douglas would face Pierce’s top player, Richard Catabona, who is also undefeated.

Catabona struggled in the first set as his shots fell short into the net as well as too wide as they passed the sideline. Douglas won the first set, 6-1, making Catabona drop his first set of the season.

Catabona was able to find his way back into the match by watching his opponent slowly losing his composure and playing structure, he said.

After the second set, the match was split. Both players were battling to keep their undefeated status. They would attack the net with volleys so much that both fell to the ground in an attempt to get the point.

Catabona would win the third set and the match, 6-4.

The Pirates had a good grip on the Brahmas during the singles. The Brahmas could not get pass 3 games in one set, except for Catabona and Alex Goodwein.

Goodwein, who was up against the Pirates Vitor Mendes, lost the first set. He was the first Brahma to lead a set during the match. In the second set, Goodwein led 3-0, but Mendes battled his way back to win the set and match, 7-5.

Nathan Crosby, who lost his match 2-6, 3-6, to Hans Baumstark, admired his performance in his match-up.

“I really felt that I stayed aggressive. I played more offensively,” Crosby said. “I felt wonderful about my performance today.”

But he was not going to win his singles defeat carry over into the next matches.

“You win some, you lose some,” Crosby said. “But I won’t stop and I’ll never quit. I will continue to work hard and do my best.”

After the long and tense match between Douglas and Catabona, both teams took a much-needed break before they started doubles.

The Brahmas strong point was no match for the Pirates as two pairs went down 8-3 and 8-4.

Doubles partner, Crosby and Kevin Nam, who lost 8-4, did make it hard for the Pirates to win the final points. They were able to catch little breaks to delay Ventura’s victory in an attempt to keep the Brahmas’ chances alive.

The entertaining doubles pair, Goodwein with Alex Kokonis, were the last to finish the match. They kept the Pirates on their toes and second-guessing themselves during net battles.

The strenuous set would end up the hands of the Pirates, 9-7.

Singles:

Richard Catabona (PIERCE) def. Tom Douglas (VENTURA), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4

Vitor Mendes (VC) def. Aaron Goodwein (LAPC), 6-2, 7-5

Cameron Lee (VC) def. Eitan Fattal (LAPC), 6-1, 6-0

Hans Baumstark (VC) def. Nathan Crosby (LAPC), 6-2, 6-3

Zach Pitman (VC) def. Kevin Nam (LAPC), 6-3, 6-2

Andy Dervot (VC) def. Alex Kokonis (LAPC), 6-2, 6-2

Doubles:

T. Douglas/H. Baumstark (VC) def. R. Catabona/E. Fattal (LAPC), 8-3

Victor Dos Santos/Z. Pitman (VC) def. A. Goodwein/A. Kokonis (LAPC), 9-7

Jon Butz/A. Dervot (VC) def. N. Crosby/K. Nam (LAPC), 8-4

Pierce doubles partners Nathan Crosby and Kevin Nam led the match 7-2. Slowly, the Renegades started gaining momentum and catching breaks with some of the balls going too long.

The match reached a 7-7 tie after a long fought-out battle between the two teams. The teams combated to get that last point. Pierce needed the point to win the match and Bakersfield. Meanwhile, the Renegades needed the point to stay alive in the match.

In the end, the Renegades defeated the Brahmas 9-7.

“I don’t think I could be any happier with my guys,” Bakersfield’s assistant tennis coach, Chuck Provencio, said. “They showed a lot of heart. Kept it close all the way through.”

The entire match didn’t come easy for the Brahmas as they played for almost four hours. But they still attempted to make this match their own.

“Three matches in singles went to three sets,” Pierce College’s coach Rajeev Datt said. “You couldn’t really get much closer than that.”

Four of the six players on Pierce won their first set. But a very common pattern happened to most of the players, they dropped the second set to the Renegades.

“What ends up happening is a player might win the first set,” Datt said. “But after the first set, [the opposing] players are going to figure it out. He’s playing a certain pattern.”

Datt continued by saying that a smart player can prevent the winning player from playing his patterns in order to defeat him.

Provencio agrees that his team commanded the second sets.

“They dug deep. They got tough,” Provencio said. “I don’t think I could imagine playing through that kind of pressure over and over. And they all just sucked it up and got through it.”

“It just comes down to hitting balls in the court,” Datt said. “Those guys who are not winning three sets are not hitting enough balls in the court. Plain and simple.”

One of the Brahma singles winners was Richard Catabona, nicknamed “breadsticks” or “bagels” due to the fact that he only drops one, if any, sets.

But during this match, Catabona said that he was a little under the weather.

“My breathing patterns were a little off,” Catabona said. “I was coughing during the match. Overall, I played well.”

Catabona finished in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-0.

Singles:

Richard Catabona (PIERCE) def. Tim Roe (BAKERSFIELD), 6-1, 6-0

Vitor Ikeda (BCC) def. Aaron Goodwein (LAPC), 7-6, 6-4

Eitan Fattal (LAPC) def. Henrique Ambrosia (BCC), 6-3, 5-7, 6-0

David Perez (BCC) def. Alex Kokonis (LAPC), 7-6, 6-4

Luckian Campos (BCC) def. Nathan Crosby (LAPC), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

Fabian Cardenas (BCC) def. Kevin Nam (LAPC), 4-6, 7-5, 6-2

Doubles:

R. Catabona/E. Fattal (LAPC) def. T. Roe/H. Ambrosia (BCC), 8-4

A. Goodwein/A. Kokonis (LAPC) def. V. Ikeda/L. Campos (BCC), 8-4

Jesse Fonseca/F. Cardenas (BCC) def. N. Crosby/K. Nam (LAPC), 9-7

Both coaches, Rajeev Datt for Pierce and Lance Kronberg for Santa Barbara, could not be reached for comments at this time.

More updates to come about the rescheduled matches.

“They played a lot closer than what I thought it was going to be,” Datt said. “From the rumors, [I heard] Glendale has a really solid team, which they do. So I think my guys competed well.”

The singles matches started very loose with players on both teams still trying to warm up.

Around the second set for each match was when Glendale turned up the heat. The Vaqueros began to dominate the courts, but the Brahmas did not give up until the final game point in that set.

Five of the six matches were over 4-1, in favor of the Vaqueros. The final singles match was an all-out battle between Pierce’s Nathan Crosby and Glendale’s Phillip Lam. The nearly two-hour match physically drained both players as they attacked the net and had a few rallies with 10-plus shots.

The third set seesawed between the games until Lam led the set 4-3.  Datt could tell Lam was controlling the set by making Crosby chase the ball.

“Can’t run all night,” Datt told Crosby. “Gotta start hitting the ball at some point.”

Lam won the next two sets to win the set and match.

The biggest strength for the Brahmas came with the doubles, where they almost swept the three matches.

“We tried a different doubles line-up today than we’ve had in previous matches,” Datt said.

Datt went on to say that the players had only practiced with their new partners, but never actually played together until now.

Richard Catabona and his partner, Eltan Fattal, finished their doubles match with a score of 8-4.

Crosby went on to win his doubles match 8-2 with his teammate, Kevin Lam.

Aaron Goodwein and his doubles partner, Alex Kokonis, went on a three-game point streak to tie the set 6-6 after being down 3-6.

Glendale regained their focus to win the match 9-7.

This was the first meeting between the Western State Conference opponents. They are scheduled to meet again in March.

Singles:

Richard Catabona (PIERCE) def. Andrew You (GLENDALE), 6-1, 6-2

Gasper Macalutas (GCC) def. Eltan Fattal (LAPC), 6-1, 6-1

Dat Lee (GCC) def. Aaron Goodwein (LAPC), 6-2, 6-4

Son Tran (GCC) def. Alex Kokonis (LAPC), 6-2, 6-0

Phillip Lam (GCC) def. Nathan Crosby (LAPC), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

Santiago Segovia (GCC) def. Kevin Nam (LAPC), 6-1, 6-3

Doubles:

R. Catabona/E.Fattal (LAPC) def. A. You/G. Macalutas (GCC), 8-4

D. Le/P. Lam (GCC) def. A. Goodwein/A. Kokonis (LAPC), 9-7

N. Crosby/K. Nam (LAPC) def. S. Tran/Oscar Lam (GCC), 8-2

http://info.piercecollege.edu/departments/athletics/Tennis.html

http://cccaasports.org/tennis/men/

However, after a relatively successful campaign with more wins than losses, the team has entered playoffs and has won its first round against Saddleback College April 17.

“The tide is turning,” Pierce College tennis team’s head coach Rajeev Datt said.

The team is also set to play in the prestigious Ojai Tournament April 26. Datt described it as the “Wimbledon for college players,” and he expects coaches from four-year schools to recruit players from the team.

Though the team remains optimistic of their chances in their upcoming tournaments, they acknowledge their expectations at the beginning of the season have diminished.

“We had a really strong line-up,” said Datt. “I’m hoping we’re gonna finish in the top five in the state. At the beginning of season I thought we were gonna win state.”

The two players who sustained injuries were David Engelberg and Richard Catabona.

Engelberg suffered from tendonitis early in the season while Catabona suffered from an impingement in his shoulder, affecting his arm and elbow, according to Datt.

“Every time [Catabona] tried to hit a serve, he had immense pain to the point where he could barely hold onto the racket,” Datt said.

Engelberg, meanwhile, has recovered and returned to the tennis court, and the rest of the team has strived to not let the bad luck affect them.

Patrick Massey, also in his second year and set to play singles and doubles in Ojai, feels that although the team has been struck by bad luck, Coach Datt has trained them well and all they can do is move on.

“Just sticking around as a team, as a unit, we really hung in there together despite the injuries and played strong,” Cardenas said.

Besides one loss to Santa Barbara and two losses to Ventura during the season, the team has remained undefeated. Both Massey and Cardenas described a victory against Santa Barbara during a home game as a highlight of the season.

“The best is still yet to come,” said Cardenas. “We look forward to making some noise in the tournaments to come.”

The tennis team is expected to play College of the Desert April 24 for the second round of playoffs, and is set to play at the Ojai Tournament in Ojai, Calif. April 26 to 29.