The De Anza College men’s tennis team dominated Cabrillo on March 8, winning 9-0.

Filling in for head coach Ron Ward, assistant coach Josh Mason found himself facing off against his own former team and coach.

“Dave Van Ness was my coach when I played over at Cabrillo in 2008, I want to say.” Mason said.

When asked if the circumstances would make a victory over Cabrillo any more enjoyable, Mason responded with, “Not at all. No.”

When asked if him knowing Mason affected his approach for the match, Van Ness responded with, “Yeah, I’m really trying to psych him out cause he knows I’m his coach ultimately and I can out-coach him.”

After a laugh, Van Ness added more by saying, “No, I think a lot of it’s just the ability of the players on the court, and De Anza has a very experienced team this year, so they’re one of the best teams, I think, in the league. Josh is a great guy and I’m not really trying to do anything to outwit him.”

Because Cabrillo’s team has a total of five members, one of De Anza’s team members, Mike Wu, 26, computer science major, had to fill in for a doubles match and play against De Anza.

“I had a lot of fun playing against my own team. I feel like when you play against your own team you want to win even a little bit more,” Wu said.

Wu and the Cabrillo team member, Jonathan Haire, lost the match 8-3. Wu mentioned feeling rusty because of inactivity, and would definitely play against his teammates again if the opportunity came up.

Number one ranked player Evan Gazikian, 19, Business Administration major, struggled to scores of 6-3, 6-2, during his matches because of an injury in his right knee.

“I couldn’t play my game so I had to figure out another way to play.” Gazikian said

Gazikian has had this injury since fall, isn’t sure what caused it, and mentioned soreness and pain if it bends too much.

“When I want to go for a big forehand or a big backhand, when I bend it too much it hurts a lot so I had to not run that much today, I had to keep it low key so it was pretty hard.”

Gazikian credited playing smart as a way to help overcome his physical injury.

With a win in hand, Mason was re-asked if him knowing Van Ness made the victory more enjoyable, he said, “No, I don’t feel like it’s a personal accomplishment or anything like that. Maybe if we played golf, if I beat him in golf I’d feel satisfied.”  

Mason also commented on the improvements that the team could make, saying, “Same improvements that every other team needs to make, keep on playing high percentage tennis and get better at the patterns that win you the points.”