Riverbank tennis coach Bruce Edwards’ team hosted a special Co-Ed Doubles Tournament late last week, luckily avoiding any problems with precipitation.

The all-day affair used all the tennis courts in town — the eight on the RHS campus, the four courts next to Cardozo Middle School, and the two in Zerillo Park.

The competition was held in two groups. The morning division included Amador, Center, Escalon and Ripon high schools in addition to Riverbank. The afternoon division included Livingston, Orestimba, Summerville, Turlock Christian and Waterford high schools, for a total of 10 teams.

Edwards reported that Escalon took first place in the morning, after they tied in number of points but they won 169 games to the Bruins’ 163. The tie was broken by the number of sets won, but that resulted also in a tie, he said. The game total finally resolved the issue.

He said Orestimba won the afternoon division, with Waterford a close second.

The coach said Riverbank did take home some individual trophies, though.

The mixed doubles pair of Zubaidullah Hamidi and Alondra Ibarra placed first, the girls doubles pair of Perla Gomez and Casandra Mendes came in second, as did the mixed doubles pair of Leo Manzo and Daisy Ferreira.

The girls doubles first seed of Carla Ibarra and Jackie Pantoja placed second, while boys doubles Josue Estrada and Juan Vigil placed third and boys doubles Edward Garnica and Erik Pantoja place fourth.

“Overall the tournament was a success - it did not rain and the kids got (to play) a lot of tennis,” Edwards said. “I will note that we missed the high level of play that Placer High (Auburn) brought to the tournament over the last ten years. They always brought two full teams and won most years. Placer set the bar high for us and our kids liked the challenge. They have moved up a division this year and no longer play co-ed tennis.”

Riverbank is in the Sac-Joaquin Section. It’s the only section that plays co-ed tennis in the state.

“Since last year we took first in sections, does that mean we’re State Champs?” Edwards wondered.

The Bruin co-ed team was to compete at Delhi on Monday, after The News went to press, then were slated to return home March 6 to take on Liberty Ranch.