REDLANDS, CA — "Off the schneid" is an American expression that means to break a scoreless streak. It is derived from the card game gin rummy, where schneid or schneider refers to the situation where one side has failed to score.] "We never 'failed to score, or we would not have made the championship match three previous times" says, KOach Kirk. "I was beginning to feel like the Jim Kelly of the OC, three times a charm didn't pan out either and our 1st championship loss was also the day before our banquet. Now I feel like the Miami Dolphins of the OC!"

San Juan Capistrano, CA — 13-5 ! JSerra is headed back to the CIF Championships.

Rancho Cucamonga, CA — The Lions went on the road today and defeated the Los Osos Grizzlies 11-7. This was a complete team effort as doubles supplied 6 sets, the singles guys posting 5. Alex Brown/Mikey Junge, Connor Faul/Mike Geffre, Cade Faul/Marco Belciano all took care of the Grizz' line 2 and 3 doubles team for 6 sets. Brady Schaefgen and Riley Anson picked up 2 each and Cole Carlson added the 5th.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — The boys kept their Miami dreams alive with a resounding home victory over the Calabasas Coyotes, 16-3. This was a 2nd round event as the Lions earned a 1st round buy via a well-earned #2 seeding.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — Epic win for undefeated season!

San Juan Capistrano, CA — Mathematically, JSerra clinched the league championship with a solid 15 - 3 victory over Servite at home. KOach asked for a big opening act, got it, 5 -1 in round one, but the boys one-upped that with a 6 - 0 closing act! Sandwiched in between was a 4-2 second round.

Lakewood, CA — The Lions traveled up the 405 to Lakewood and defeated Bosco 17 - 1.

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA — Wow! EPIC comeback, 24 hours after Lions baseball does same thing in their house!

Costa Mesa, CA — Today was a tough assignment as the Lions come of a 10 day vacay of frolicking in the sand, sun, snow around the globe. "It's always a chore to see who played and who didn't," says KOach, but, once they start serving, I can tell right away." The chore in this assignment was moving people around a little switching some teams up and even swapping some deuce/ad positions.

Fullerton, CA — Historically, the Fullerton tennis Center has not been good to us, but, today we got a little love from her.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — Bosco traveled with a full team this year, they only had 4 players at home when we played last year

San Juan Capistrano, CA — The Lions stuck to our script today and put a hurt on the blue kool aid man, 10-8.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — JSerra opened up Trinity League play and the boys put a big hurt on OLu straight out of the gate, sweeping 5 of the 6 sets. Thinking that was a pretty good pattern, they repeated it in rounds two and three. Line 1 singles was in doubt for a bit as Brady had to come back from a break down, he groveled his way into a tiebreaker, powered his spinach, "I am what I am" and took the tiebreaker easily. His opponent never recovered from this and Cole walked all over him in the 2nd round, 6-2. Singles players went 3-2-1 for total of 9 sets, Emilio picking up opening round one victory at line 3.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — The varsity boys came out swinging today and didn't let up! Not as strong as previous years and missing 2 starters, Crean competed well at line 1 dubs and 2 dubs with a legit freshman in singles.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — Varsity boys tennis keep on truckin' and they don't even know it!

Dana Point, CA — JSerra moves to 3 and OH early in the 2024 campaign. Dana Hills Dolphins fielded three very strong singles players who Brady and Cole took care of, taking 5 sets! Stars of the day were JSerra's doubles teams, the Faul Twins, Mikey and Marco and Emilio and Hudson were relentless sweeping ALL 9 sets giving up a mere 11 games. These guys are ALL MVP's of this 14 - 4 'victory at sea'! Brady was down 0-4 in the last round fighting back vs #1 Dolphin, Hans... Brady resurfaced and took the tiebreaker for the win.. 7- 6 [7-2]. Freshman Alex Brown competed very well at line #2 singles... and Cole was amazing! Varsity has the day off tomorrow, back next week vs Tesoro then San Juan Hills!

San Juan Capistrano, CA — JSerra unleashed a powerful Pride of Lions today on their home battlefield over Foothill of Tustin. In their 2nd outing of this young season, JSerra fielded 3 freshman at line1and 3 singles, the other as 1/2 the top doubles team; Riley Anson, Alex Brown and Michael Geffre respectively. Foothill is historically one of the top teams in OC and always in CIF contention. KOach Kirk does not like to give "bulletin board fodder" but notes,"This is probably our strongest boys team ever, I've got a good feeling! I really love the collegiate atmosphere, brought about by our awesome facility, fantastic fans; parents, grandparents, friends and family support, coupled with the cohesiveness of this young team. It's an amazing environment to have a team buy into the same goal together and makes my 'job' fun!"

San Juan Capistrano, CA — The 2024 Boys varsity tennis opened up with a big win yesterday at home, versus El Toro.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — Great Season! So Far!

Newport Coast, CA — The Lions stayed the course today after dropping first round, 1 - 5.

Fullerton, CA — JSerra clinched the outright Trinity League Championship today in the most epic fashion!

San Juan Capistrano, CA — Almost pulled off a dozen bagels today.... Braves only forfeited 6 sets today, instead of the 12 sets they did last time!

San Juan Capistrano, CA — 'Winning Ugly' is a tennis booked penned by Brad Gilbert. The Lions were the front page of this book today! BUT, got it done in the next to last set...Mickey and Marco, pulled off a huge upset in one of the only 2 doubles sets captured by our duos. Today was a 7 set sweep by single players; Zach and Brady took 3 each and Cole grounded an Eagle for the second time.

Fountain Valley, CA — Trap games are no fun, especially away in 30+ mph wind gales. Very worrisome start as JSerra had trouble getting out of the gates. Down in two pivotal sets, JSerra put the stop to the skids, turned the tide with some timely service breaks to take round 1, 4-2. Rounds 2 and 3 both followed suit for a 8-, round 2 lead and a 12-6 finale. The matches were much tighter than the score shows and KOach felt fortunate to avoid the trap door.

Anaheim, CA — Great revenge game today! Last time the Lions were at OLu, we lost on a 9-9, 73-34 game count verdict, which kept us from the CIF playoffs.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — JSerra doubles carried their weight today, but, it wouldn't have mattered had Zach not upset Servite's top player in the 2nd round! Brady was on Mission Possible ll as he again, in24 hours, takes 6 sets of 6. Duos = Joe Bond playing against his old school with Cade; they posted a round 1 win that basically won the match for us in the beginning. The Charlie/Cade, Gary/Connor and Mikey/Marco proceeded to capture 4 of the last 6 doubles sets for a total of 9 to cinch the final.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — Best opener ever... 14 - 4 over Mater Dei sets the tone for the season as the Lions venture into Trinity League play. "Not gonna lie" states KOach, I was worried until kickoff, then I was fine, kinda sensed it during warmups to be honest. But, we had a GREAT collegiate-like practice Monday, our best of the season, and that is when I felt calm." The coaching staff worked hard to get the boys there, the rest was up to them. "We can only do so much, then they need to get out and play."

San Juan Capistrano, CA — The Lions broke the breakers today, quite a few times..

SANTA ANA, CA — but, we did gang up on Foothill today, beating one of OC's strongest teams, year in and year out.

Huntington Beach, CA — Back to our roots as JSerra traveled to Huntington Beach High School, where the Orahood brothers started there long-tenured tennis journies and short lived football 'careers'. Keith, Kent and I played on these courts for 2 years before Edison HS was built; Keith and I had spring football for the Chargers, on the grass we walked by and I even got cut from basketball on those outdoor courts we trapesed across. Flood of memories for us eveytime we visit, more reason for us to perform well. "We like to win here," states KOach Kirk, "but, 'Bradyless in HB' made for tough sailing." JSerra's doubles teams could only conjure up 1 set, which wasn't enough to help out a great singles outing. Gary with Connor were cruising vs HB's line 3 dubs when they 'tapped out' with an 'injury'. Our doubles suffered 2 real close tiebreaker losses which could have teetered in either direction, but in the other 6 sets that we lost, the Lions only totaled only 12 out of 54 games. "We will be looking inward to find a long-term solution for our duos."

Irvine, CA — JSerra varsity tennis moves to 4 wins no losses on the year with a 14-4 victory in Irvine, over Crean Lutheran. The Saints have a very formidable line 1 doubles and 2 strong singles, their team is stronger than the score suggests. Zach and Brady captured their customary 3 set sweeps which Gary and Connor matched in their doubles sets. Just like yesterdays post, "there's your 9 right there". Marco and Charlie picked up 2 doubles sets. Emilio and HB subbed in, taking a round 3 doubles set. BUT, best for last, Mikey Junge provided all the entertainmet in round 3, coming from behind 1-5, forcing a tiebreaker, fought off several match points, before succumbing 7-9 in the breaker. "Apparently", there was a dog kennel close by and it was very disruptive for both players.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — Hard to believe KOach was worried during round 1 that this was going to be 'Bad Day at Black Rock'...but, the LIONS rebounded quickly in round 2, and Tesoro's coach subbed liberally between round 2 and 3 ....aka, threw in the towel as JSerra picked up their 9th set prior to the 3rd round. Great sweeps by Zach and Brady and at line 1 dubs with Gary and Connor; there's your 9 right there. Subs, HB Warner in singles and Peter Zang with Hudson Aase added to the total.. HB's record is 4-1 in his inaugural year as a Lion netter. Also, Mikey/Marco may have picked up MVP honors had they remained in for round three. KOach was really happy with Caden Faul who lost 2 real close matches in his singles debut this year. AND happy with Cole and Charlie who pulled out a heated set at line 2 after dropping their opening set vs line 3.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — We lost to this team 3 to 15 a couple of weeks ago...KOach gave his ALAMO speech today and drew the line in the sand and the whole team bought in. Just as the real battle in San Antonio, we were severely overmatched in the singles area and gave up 8 of 9 sets, BUT, this was an improvement over last time. The lone set was an solid 6-1 victory from Zach Champine vs Servite line 3. Our doubles stuck to KOach's game plan and took 6 of the 9 sets, barely missing out on the last match of the day, where the Lions were tripped up in a tiebreaker.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — DAy 2 was much cooler than the past 2 days! Our boys competed very well today, most of the sets we came up short on were 6-8 or 7-8 tiebreaker losses. 2 or 3 'heart'breakers. Again, this compass style tournament keeps all players in; even if you lose, youjust move to another section of the draw, NE, NW, SE, SW [thus, the compass].

Newport Beach, CA — Our boys played in an individual "compass" format today; in which, they are placed into a draw and will play 4 matches in 2 days. If you win, you go to the right and west, should you lose. Every round will give you points to add to whole school's tally. JSerra lost 6 sets today vs 4 wins. Brady and Gary made it to the semis of doubles while Zach took 2 easy sets to advance to the singles semis. Tomorrow gets tougher.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — "Clueless in Capistrano", read my scouting report on OLu. KOach admitted he had nada, except,

Huntington Beach, CA — Tweaking the lineup a little in the final 2 rounds helped alot as the LIONS picked up 2 easy victorys. ALL nine players won their sets. Gary had a great win, holding off his opponent for a 8-6

San Juan Capistrano, CA — The Braves were just that today...bringing some young new players to the JSerra Tennis Complex. Although outmanned, Bosco played well, fought hard and well-mannered foes. Their line 2 doubles literally had never picked up a racket until February! The Lions were very hospitable in every aspect except set count and game tally; specifically, Zach Champine going triple bagel right through the Braves lineup!

San Juan Capistrano, CA — JSerra hosted the Santa Margarita Eagles today in their 2022 Trinity League Opener.

Laguna Beach, CA — These beach schools are not friendly to us! At least this time we rode the wave right up to the end and were "Hangin' Ten', smiling big, before crashing into the surf. Brady Schaefgen upset Laguna's #1 player, then disposed of their #2 player in another close set, but had a tough loss at line#3. Zach Champine defeated their 2 and 3 lines , but fell to line #1, 4-6 in round 3. Gary Davidson, with Joe Bond, at #1 dubs also disposed of the Waves 1 and 2 teams, but, lost a close round 3 to the #3 team. Aiden German and Hudson Aase took care of their line 2 and 3 duo opponents , but came up short vs. Beach's top team.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — Foothill brought their A-Game today to JSerra and opened up a can of whoop whatever. The Lions were missing players on varsity and JV today, which doesn't bode well in the final count. Singles players picked up 2 sets and a lone doubles point. Brady and Zach both picked up points at line #2 singles in hard-fought matches. Zach narrowly lost to the Knights #3 singles, a lefty freshman; but, had a late come from behind in his line 2 victory. Their #1 player was untouchable. The only doubles team we could come close to was their line 3 team, who Aiden and Joe handled by playing solid, smart, patient tennis. Esteban and Hudson played this team tough as well, but a late service break hurt us. We have 4 practice days to get ready for our league opener vs SM and will need to shore up our doubles play before then.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — The Lions were almost at full strength today for the first time this season, just in time. Crean Lutheran is a very solid team, a qtr finalist in CIF last year. Singles players Brady and Zach ran in to an 11+ UTR player, headed for WestPoint which kept them from sweeping 3. This is a great example of how we don't ever really have to beat the other teams #1 player to win a match. Zach was down vs their #2 player 2-5 and stormed back to take a tiebreaker 7-6 [7-5]. This win broke their back. Score was 3-3 after round 1, and the Lions took round 2, 4 -2 for a 7-5 lead going into round 3. Michael Woodward and Kenney Perez added 5 games to the count in case we ended up in a 9-9 tie. While Gary Davidson and Nick Dubrow narrowly missed a sweep, dropping a round 3 tiebreaker. Esteban Johnson w/ Hudson Aase added a doubles set to the tally. Luke Krolikowski and Charlie Vogel rotated in for a hard-fought last round doubles set.

Huntington Beach, CA — The Lions could not handle the heavy surf today at Huntington.

San Juan Capistrano, CA — The Lions opened up the 2022 season with a win over El Toro. KOach Kirk notes: "This is an annual preseason match for us, 14 yrs in the running. Coach Amos was kind enough to play us during our inception and initial growth and it is good to play someone close to us in proximity."