Though it was impossible to predict at the time, losing a singles match as a freshman turned out to be a pivotal moment for Matt Lucena.

It was the spring of 1985 and Lucena wasn’t even a student at Chico High School – rather, he was a ninth-grader at Chico Junior but standing tall among competitors who were typically juniors and seniors.

Lucena lost a routine match to Pleasant Valley’s Jimmy Brandt that season. He never lost again as a prep player, collecting four consecutive Northern Section singles titles.

Gerald Circo, in his first year as Chico’s boys tennis coach, knew immediately he had a future star on his hands.

“When he was a freshman, his parents were taking him every weekend to play these really hot kids in the Bay Area,” Circo said of Lucena. “He had private lessons, and he played the best the Chico Racquet Club had to offer ... especially facing some 100-mph serves.”

Ironically, the Panthers did not win a section team title while Lucena played for them – though they were Eastern Athletic League champs.

Lucena parlayed his success into an outstanding career at the University of California, and then a United States Open Mixed Doubles championship in 1995.

It was a sensational level to reach after what had been a humble start in the sport for Lucena, who now owns and operates the venerable Collier Hardware in downtown Chico along with brothers Marc and Steve.

“Tennis started out as just another sport for me to play during the summertime, like soccer and baseball,” Lucena recalled. “I realized that could be pretty good at tennis when I was 16 and started to win some junior tournaments.

“After my first year in the 18’s of playing some national tennis tournaments, I started to receive letters from coaches asking me to attend their schools. These were mostly Division II schools and some smaller Division I. At this point I realized that I might be able to play at the college level.”

The interest from big-time programs began to intensify. “After my second year in the 18’s, I started to have some better results and was recruited by California,” Lucena said.

But he didn’t just “play” at the college level. He dominated. He was the No. 1 doubles player in the nation while at Cal in 1990 and 1991, when he claimed back-to-back NCAA Division I titles with Doug Eisenman in ’90 and Bent-Ove Pedersen in ’91. Lucena did not drop a set in 10 matches during both years.

“That was the first time I realized I might be able to play at the professional level,” Lucena said.

He earned All-American honors in doubles both those seasons, and in singles in 1992 when he finished No. 11 in the collegiate rankings.

He was a three-time All-American at Cal, winning five national doubles titles – two indoor titles, two outdoor, as well as the Volvo Challenge – and compiling a 97-23 overall record in doubles. He also had a 96-51 singles mark at Cal.

Lucena’s professional career was no less impressive. Along with Pedersen, he reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 1991 in his second career Grand Slam tournament, only to lose to eventual winners John Fitzgerald and Anders Jarryd in four sets.

That set the stage for Lucena’s win with Meredith McGrath in the Mixed Doubles championship.

He achieved a No. 62 ranking in doubles in 1996, compiling a 36-48 record. He lost his only professional singles match, topping out at No. 312 in 1993. Lucena banked $170,523 in career earnings.

Lucena retired in September 1996, with his last match taking place on center court at the U.S. Open.

“I decided that it was time to retire because of some elbow and shoulder issues that stopped me from being able to compete at the level that I expected of myself,” he said.

There was no doubt in Circo’s mind that Lucena would be dominant as a prep player.

“I knew there wouldn’t be much of a challenge for him at the high school level,” Circo recalled. “I told him I wanted him to play all four years, knowing fully well there wouldn’t be any competition by the time he was a senior.”

Circo said teammate Scott Thresher challenged Lucena at the Racquet Club.

“Matt was up to the challenge,” Circo said. “He gave kids lessons. He never embarrassed anybody in a high school opponent – the kid got a lesson. He was never arrogant or cocky. It was so ideal for me as a coach to have him for four years. It was great having him on the bus and on the team.”

Circo pointed out that, at Cal, Lucena won more NCAA titles than John McEnroe had.

“It was incredible,” Circo said. “When he was on the pro tour, this is how humble he was: He had won the U.S. Open mixed doubles. He came back (to visit Chico High School’s practice) with a bag of eight or 10 frames.

“It was then that ne of the kids asked him if he’d ever lost a high school match, and Lucena said he did, losing to Jimmy Brandt at PV as a freshman.

“The kids asked him: ‘What would happen if you played Jimmy Brandt today?’ and Matt said, ‘He’d probably kick my butt. He has my number.’ ”

Circo said the Chico Racquet Club’s youth program was responsible for producing some outstanding talent for both Chico and Pleasant Valley.

“Almost all the great players from Chico and PV came through that juniors program at CRC,” Circo said. “We at Chico really benefited from that program, along with Steve Dodson at PV. Matt Lucena, Matt Meuter, Matt Schaefer, Matt Morehead ... they were all together and were great.”

Circo said Chico got even better following Lucena’s graduation, winning five section championships. “We just continued to ride that Lucena wave,” he said.

“He really had some vision,” Circo said of Lucena. “He could see a 100-mph serve coming at him and could tell whether it was in or out before it got to the line.”

Lucena had interest in Cal’s program, and the school’s attention proved it had plenty of interest in him.

Even so, “Cal was not the only school that recruited me,” he said. “I went on recruiting trips to other schools, including UCLA and Georgia Tech. I choose Cal because it was a Pac-10 school with the toughest tennis conference.

“Also, Cal’s coach at the time (Scott McCain) influenced my decision. I do not think I would have attended Cal had it not been for tennis.”

Lucena’s practice regimen was rigorous, though its components varied as he progressed in the ranks.

“In high school, practice for me consisted of 4-6 hours a day during the summertime and a little less during the school year,” he explained.

“In college we would attend class in the morning and practice all afternoon – about 4 1/2 to 5 hours. At Cal, practice would include a variety of drills that changed each day. A large portion of the practice involved hitting cross-court forehands or backhands, volley and overhead drills, serving competitions, and hitting a well-aimed ball at the Cal band practicing on the track next door.

“Often on rainy days we’d play one on one full court basketball for cardio training. Practice would vary on the pro tour, depending on whether I was on the road or at home. Practice on the road was a challenge: securing practice courts, obtaining balls and finding competitive hitting partners to work out with.”

Lucena has fond memories of Circo’s guidance.

“The one thing about Mr. Circo that sticks out for me is his emphasis on being part of the team,” Lucena said. “It would have been easy for me to play junior tournaments rather than high school tennis my sophomore through senior years. Instead, Mr. Circo convinced me of the value of participating on Chico High’s tennis team.

“He emphasized the social aspect of being involved on a team during high school and by doing so kept me engaged in school. His emphasis on being a team player helped me prepare for the team atmosphere while attending Cal. His positive attitude, famous lawn chair and bag of sunflower seeds court side were ever present for each match.”

From a coaching standpoint, Circo credited longtime Butte coach Chet Lyssy.

“Chet gave me the strategy for coaching team tennis. We had some fantastic teams, thanks to Chet’s philosophy.”

Lucena doesn’t play much tennis anymore. “However, a few years ago I played in a Cal-USC-Stanford-UCLA exhibition in Tiburon,” he said. “Each team fielded a player in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50 and above. Occasionally, I hit with some friends or my son.”

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There are seasons in our lives when people help us to become more than we are. For many of us it was a high school coach we had along the way, whose inspiration and encouragement lasted long after high school is over.

Join The Chico High Foundation Board, On Saturday, August 21, 2010, at the Elk's Club on Manzanita Avenue for the first ever Chico High School Sports Reunion.

Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by a BBQ dinner at 7:00 p.m. Varsity Coaches from the last 60 years will be there as well as the former athletes from those golden years.