Boys’ tennis: Brahmas are better, but they want to be best

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Coach Dave Hamel believes Diamond Bar is even better than it was last year, when it reached the Southern Section Division II finals. Whether the Brahmas are good enough to go all the way, however, remains to be seen.

‘We have everyone back except for half of our No. 1 doubles team,’ said Hamel, whose team is ranked second in Division II behind reigning champion San Marino. ‘We made some adjustments, particularly at No. 3 singles and No. 3 doubles, but top to bottom I’d say we’re stronger, absolutely.’

In the big picture, the final score is not as significant as how well the Brahmas’ top players fare versus their opponents’ best. Diamond Bar coasted in its Sierra League opener against Ayala on Wednesday and Hamel feels the Brahmas must be careful should they arrive at this year’s final without a loss.

‘We could go in there 20-0 and they [San Marino] might have three or four losses, but they’ll be battle-tested because they play a tougher schedule,’ he surmised. ‘We take different routes to get there but we wind up at the same spot.’

-- Steve Galluzzo

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