It was a momentous season for Pajaro Valley senior Yareli Zamora who made school history and etched herself in the record books.
The Grizzlies ace tennis player captured the program’s first-ever singles championship after winning the Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division championship.
Zamora defeated Rancho San Juan’s Estafany Paradez in three sets (6-2, 7-6, 9-7) on Nov. 1 to claim the crown.
Last season, Zamora was one win away from winning the Cypress singles crown before losing by two points in a tiebreaker to league champion Hennessy Brown of Gonzales High.
Zamora said after a year of putting in hard work, making it this far felt amazing.
“It feels great, I got to make school history and make it this far after being so close last year,” she said. “I really got to show how much I improved.”
The Grizzlies won the team’s first title in the now defunct Monterey Bay League Pacific Division in 2013 after they finished 9-1 that season.
Pajaro Valley finished in the middle of the league with a 5-5 record and no league title.
However, Zamora will now leave her mark after becoming the program’s first girls tennis player to win a singles league championship.
She also became the first player to participate in the PCAL singles tournament, but Zamora lost to Salinas High’s Anushka Mangal in two sets (6-0, 6-1) on Nov. 3.
Pajaro Valley coach Jon Tarr complimented her stud player on an amazing season despite the early first round exit.
“Toughest competitor I have ever coached on my high school team,” he said. “[Zamora] was the captain of this team and the unquestioned leader, girls loved her… it’s going to be very challenging to replace that next season.”
Entering the PCAL tournament, Zamora had yet to lose a match or a set the whole season.
Tarr praised Zamora for always keeping the strong chemistry and helping keep the team motivated.
“[Zamora] always made the players feel welcomed, everyone always bonded and Yareli had a big part in that,” he said.
Zamora said she is going to miss the team but will always have lots of memories to look back on.
She mentioned that she’ll miss the coaches and her teammates, but she’ll always remember them and all of the hard work they accomplished together.
“Winning the league championship and making it this far is the best memory I’ve made playing tennis,” Zamora said. “Feels amazing.”
Zamora said she always wanted to lead by example and show her teammates that anything is possible with hard work.
“I always told them not to give up, if you really want to improve you have to really focus,” she said.
Zamora is hoping to continue her athletic career in college and she will go through the process including scholarship applications.
Zamora is currently looking at Cabrillo College as an option but she’s also willing to jump on any other opportunities that may rise.
“If I get any scholarships or accepted to any universities I will definitely look at those, but wherever I go my plan is to try out for their team,” she said.
Good job kiddo! Nice to see your hard work and dedication pay off while setting an example for your teammates to follow. Keep that same attitude towards everything you do in life and you will be happy and content.