Boys’ Varsity Tennis team has had quite a successful season with a record of 11-7. Their success earned them a spot in the CIF Division 1 Tournament to win the CIF Division 1 Title.
After the team victory, the Western League Individual Tournament was next on the list. Diego Yanez (seeded #8) and Gunnar Dutch (seeded #4) both made it to the quarter-finals and earned a spot in a back-draw for eligibility in the Championship draw.
Ryan Seggerman (seeded #1) won the main draw in straight sets and confidently moved on to the Championship draw to play against a wider span of schools in San Diego County. Ryan’s first three matches were won easily in straight sets as well.
As for the semi-final, Ryan faced a competitor whom he had never beaten before. Jacob Brumm from Torrey Pines had defeated him seven times in a row. With “big serves, big forehands, and strong mental discipline,” says Varsity Coach David Brummitt, Ryan Seggerman pulled through with a victory of 6-4, 6-4. This earned Ryan Seggerman a spot in the CIF Finals to play against his long-time friend and rival, senior Ivan Thamma (Seeded #2) from Point Loma High School.
On Friday, May 19, Ryan Seggerman played the match that would give him the CIF singles champion title. The stands were packed at the Barnes Tennis Center – especially a rowdy group of Thamma supporters since Barnes is his home court. Ryan walked onto the court at 2pm to face his competitor for this extremely prestigious title.
The first set was neck-and-neck between both players. Ryan’s serve was broken twice in this set, and despite having lost previously to Ryan, his opponent definitely put up a fight in this match. Ivan ended up taking the first set 6-4.
The second set made even the most steadfast Seggerman supporters chew their fingernails through its entirety. Ryan had been dominating the set with his serve, which could have been mistaken for a bomb. He had a convincing lead of 4-1, but much like the first set, Ivan did not let up easily. Ivan comes back in the set to tie it 4-4, leading them to a tiebreaker in the set. The tiebreaker in and of itself was tight just as the set was. Ryan was able to save the second set with a score of 9-7 to continue confidently in the third set.
After a ten-minute break between the second and third set, the players continued in this well-fought battle. Ryan again gains the advantage in this set at 5-2. But once again, Ivan Thamma comes back to win four games in a row. After having saved many match points in the second set, Ryan served at 5-6 and was down at 0-40. At this point, Ivan had triple match point, but Ryan proves he can play under pressure by saving all those match points. “I was nervous but tried to just take it one point at a time. The match was always close and up for grabs so I knew at any time if I could raise my level it could sway things in my favor,” he says. With his big serves, he was able to recover from his disadvantage.
At this point, the players would go to a second tiebreaker. Everyone was tight, as this could now go either way. Ryan was down again in the tiebreaker, but much like this entire match, it was back and forth between the both of them. With a fighting spirit and a desire to hit one ball more, Ryan pulled through and won 7-4 in the tiebreaker. The final score was 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-4).
“Definitely the best aspect of my game today was my serve. It has become a really important part of my game and I’ve come to rely on it a lot especially in those tight matches when nerves kick in,” he says.
This was quite a memorable win for Coronado. The last time an individual from CHS won this tournament was back in 1979, when Randy Nixon played. His sister, Robin Nixon, who is also the athletic director at Coronado High, came out to support Ryan in his well-fought triumph.
Ryan will be playing a few men’s tournaments and perhaps some professional events over the summer before he heads to Princeton University in the Fall.
