Warriors men’s tennis served up victory over Imperial Valley College

By Igor Colonno|March 3, 2023

Hector Uribe of El Camino Campus gets in formation for a backhand hit. El Camino College defeated Imperial Valley on March 2 at home. (Ash Hallas | The Union)

High winds and a late-game arrival from Imperial Valley College were not enough to delay a strategic and rapid victory from El Camino College.

Winning by an outstanding 8-1 margin, El Camino’s men’s tennis team overcame Imperial Valley on Thursday, March 2, at the El Camino Tennis Courts, securing its third win in the Inland Empire Athletics Conference.

The Warriors achieved all of its doubles-game wins and had an advantage early on compared to Imperial Valley, ceding the overall win to El Camino.

Keanu Wagner and Aaron Smith were the first to finish their double games winning 8-3, with an outstanding performance by both teammates.

While fast-paced, the Warriors still found the time to execute each of their moves with caution, taking advantage of its serves and returns in their favor and outrunning Imperial Valley’s inexperience.

Players on the men's tennis team for El Camino College, Aaron Smith (front) and Keanu Wagner (back), wait for a serve coming from Imperial Valley. El Camino College won the tennis match against Imperial Valley at home. Ash Hallas | The Union — The men’s tennis team players for El Camino College, Aaron Smith (front) and Keanu Wagner (back) wait for service from Imperial Valley on Thursday, March 2. (Ash Hallas | The Union)

The doubles matches ended with a score of 8-2 win by Hector Uribe and Matthew Martinez, while Joshua Holman and Benjamin Horodner sealed the last double win by 8-4.

For the singles, the Warriors were not patient and rushed to seal the win.

Horodner’s consistency secured the fast 2-0 against Carlos Diaz by accumulating points and increasing the game difference with quick returns and serves.

“I didn’t make many errors… I just played solid overall, the other team just made more errors that’s the only difference,” Horodner said.

Holman also came in with a speedy two-set win against Carlos Zapata by 6-1 on both sets.

“I just feel like I out-grounded him, played long points, not trying to be the one who makes the error,” Holman said.

El Camino's Ben Horodner (left) and Josh Holman (right), bump their tennis rackets to show support with their match against Imperial Valley. El Camino College deafeated Imperial Valley at home on March 2. Ash Hallas | The Union — El Camino’s Ben Horodner (left) and Josh Holman (right), bump their tennis rackets to show support with their match against Imperial Valley. (Ash Hallas | The Union)

On the other court, the opposing team was not satisfied with its performance. Roberto Ibarra lost by 6-0 in the first set and lost 6-4 in the second against Warrior’s player Wagner.

“My Groundstrokes wasn’t there… I could have improved more on my serves and ground strokes,” Ibarra said. “[Wagner] was a pretty good server, I was shocked by that.”

El Camino took most of the wins with Smith winning by 2-0, Uribe with a 2-0 win as well, and the only Warriors loss came from Martinez by 2-1, tying the score to 1-1 gave Martinez a chance, but Julian Dover outshined him on the last set.

Warriors coach Sergiu Boerica attributes El Camino’s wins to experience over Imperial Valley’s players.

“Our players played at a higher level for a longer time… that experience allows them to find the strategy that the opponents are using,” Boerica said.

The winds occurring during the match were also an important factor in the wins.

Boerica said the high wind from the last game against Victor Valley College on Tuesday, Feb. 28, taught the team to adapt to different environments if necessary and to use the elements to their advantage.