Ruland wins opener at section tourney

Brandan Ruland won his first-round match at the CIF individual tennis tournament at the Barnes Tennis Center at San Diego.

The Ramona High School sophomore opened play May 16 with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Michael Vu of Scripps Ranch.

“Brandan played really well,” said coach Rose Darrough. “His serve looked good. He looked very comfortable out there. It would have been nice if he had gotten a different draw in the second round.”

Ruland’s second-round opponent was freshman Ryan Hahn of Poway. The top four players were given specific seeds while unspecified 5-8, 9-16, and 17-20 seeds were also given to top players. Hahn was a 17-20 seed.

“This kid is an amazing player. He has a national ranking in the 14s (14-and-under),” Darrough said.

Hahn advanced to the next round, where he defeated a 9-16 seed, with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Ruland in the May 16 second-round match.

“Brandan played well. He did what he could,” Darrough said.

The Valley League coaches named Ruland, who won the singles championship at the league tournament, as the league’s player of the year.

“I’d say he had a good season,” Darrough said.

The CIF tournament also included the doubles team of Ramona seniors Kellen Rolling and Tristan Wall. That Bulldog tandem lost a first-round match May 17 to their Mission Hills counterparts in 6-3 and 6-4 sets.

“It was close,” Darrough said.

The doubles loss ended Ramona’s boys tennis season. “This year’s boys team was a fantastic group of young men,” Darrough said.

Darrough noted that her players were respectful and sought to improve their skills.

“Their parents did a great job with them,” she said.

Darrough, a parent of a current eighth-grader, has stepped down as Ramona’s boys tennis and girls tennis coach, but she will still be involved in Ramona High School athletics as a parent. “I’ll be around for sure,” she said.