Vitals: El Diamante, senior, singles

He's qualified because: The Miners' No. 1 singles player the entire season, Lorentzen dominated opposing players for most of the season. Finished with 34-2 singles record, winning West Yosemite League championship over teammate and No. 2 El Diamante singles player Ryan Andrada. Cramped up in Central Section final and lost to Andrada in three sets.

He said it: "If I was asked to pick one match and send someone out there to play and win, it would be Josh." — El Diamante coach Joe Harding

Ask coaches who they thought was the best high school boys tennis player in the Valley this season and the answer comes back loud and clear: Josh Lorentzen.

The El Diamante star made it to the final of the Central Section individual tournament for the third straight year. And despite cramping up and losing to teammate Ryan Andrada, Lorentzen's dominance throughout the season was enough for him to be named The Bee's Boys Tennis Player of the Year for the third straight season.

"Even though he didn't win the final, he's amazing," Immanuel coach Mark Hayward said.

Lorentzen finished 34-2 in singles play, his only losses to Daymon Johnson of East Bakersfield in the regular season and Andrada in the section final. The section championship came after Lorentzen, a senior, beat his younger counterpart in the West Yosemite League final and also in three challenge matches without losing a set.

"If I was asked to pick one match and send someone out there to play and win, it would be Josh," El Diamante coach Joe Harding said.

For many, Lorentzen's loss in the final could be attributed in part to his long semifinal victory over Kyle Jackson. It lasted more than 2.5 hours, Harding said.

Jackson, an All-Bee first-team player from Immanuel, took the match to three sets before Lorentzen won 7-6, 4-6, 6-2. Andrada dispatched first-teamer Andrew Combs of Clovis High 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

The two Miners met in the final about an hour after Lorentzen's semifinal match.

"I love Ryan, but he understood the significance of [Josh] being out there longer," Harding said. "Having to come back and face a bulldog like Ryan in the final, it was tough."

Said Lorentzen: "Ryan is always a tough match because he always hits everything back. I didn't have the stamina to hang on and keep playing."

He didn't nab the section title, but Lorentzen did achieve half of the goal he set after last season. He has a partial scholarship to play tennis at Sacramento State.

"I'm very excited. It's definitely an amazing opportunity," he said. "The competition is at such a higher level and I'll be able to play a lot of players who are better than me. Who knows how good I can get and where I can go in college and after college?"

As for the future of tennis at El Diamante and in the section, Lorentzen said Andrada is the man to beat.

"He does not miss," Lorentzen said. "He's a grinder. He'll stay out there for six hours just so he can beat you. He's definitely going to leave his legacy on El D tennis and in the Valley."