Hot weather won’t stop California Tennis Classic

The nation’s largest high school girls tennis tournament is set to launch Friday despite potential weather-related challenges that have prompted a small format change in the interest of player health.

All individual matches Friday for teams in Divisions II-VIII at the 36th annual California Tennis Classic will be eight-game pro sets rather than two-out-of-three sets.

Tournament organizers felt it was best to minimize players’ exposure to the heat, which is expected to be as high as 106 degrees in Clovis, as they compete in four team matches during the opening of a two-day tournament that has drawn 116 teams to 23 sites around Fresno and Madera counties.

Individual matches will revert to two-out-of-three sets Saturday, when teams will play two team matches.

Clovis Unified officials also will keep a close eye on the air quality, which has been an issue with the Rough fire burning for the past month in the mountains above Fresno.

“The heat is one thing, but the smoke adds unpredictability to it,” said co-tournament director and Buchanan coach Jonathan Slater. “Unfortunately, last weekend was great and next weekend is supposed to be great. This weekend just happened to be the hottest weekend in September. We aren’t expecting any issues, though. We’ve done everything we can to prevent that.”

Los Gatos, Monte Vista-Danville and Archbishop Mitty-San Jose are the top contenders for the tournament’s Division I title, Slater said.

Buchanan is the only Central Section school in the eight-team D-1 field. The defending section D-I champion Bears are led by returners Sravya Gudipudi, Lasya Gudipudi, Lauren Lee and Sienna Swain.

“We’re not playing any of the local teams, so there’s a lot less pressure,” Slater said. “We just want to test ourselves against the best in Northern California. It’s always fun seeing where we stack up.”

Matches are scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday at the following sites: Buchanan, Cooper River Country Club, Bullard, Clovis West, Clovis North, Clovis East, Central, Alta Sierra Intermediate, Clovis, Fresno City College, Sanger, Edison, Kastner Intermediate, Granite Ridge Intermediate, Kerman, Sierra Blackstone Racquet Club, Hoover, Madera, Roosevelt, Madera South, Fresno, Fowler and Clark Intermediate.

Mascot bill to governor

Schools in California would have to stop rooting for “Redskins” under a bill banning the mascot that legislators sent to Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday.

California has the nation’s largest population of Native Americans, including nearly 40,000 students enrolled in public schools as of last year, so lawmakers backing Assembly Bill 30 said the state should join a national campaign to have teams like the Washington, D.C., NFL team drop a name that critics call outdated and offensive. The measure, which passed the Assembly on a 54-8 vote, prevents schools from using the term in team names, mascots or nicknames.

“For far too long, we have allowed stereotypes and derogatory terms to become normalized,” said Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville. “It is time for we as a state to do what is right.”

Four California high schools, including Chowchilla and Tulare, use the mascot, and amendments to the bill would allow them to keep old uniforms still bearing the name if they are purchased before 2017. Opponents said the bill would insert the state into what should be a local matter.

“This is a discussion that should be had at the school board level,” said Assemblyman Matthew Harper, R-Huntington Beach.

The Bee honored

During its board meeting Sept. 9, Clovis Unified recognized The Bee for its partnership and support, and for the newspaper’s “outstanding coverage” of the district’s student-athletes.

Representing The Bee at the board meeting were executive editor Jim Boren and prep sports reporter Andy Boogaard.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Hot weather won’t stop California Tennis Classic."