PALO ALTO, Calif. – The St. Francis tennis team finished fifth in the Golden State Tennis Classic over the weekend with victories over Menlo-Atherton, Saint Francis and Piedmont in the tournament held at Stanford University.

“It was an unbelievable weekend and experience to be on the Stanford campus and playing on the stadium court,” said Head Coach Kristi Spector.

St. Francis dropped their opening match to Dana Hills out of Southern California 4-2. Sophomore Alisha Anwar and Adithi Benush provided singles wins at No. 2 and No.3 but the Dolphins swept the three doubles matches to move into the winner’s bracket. The Troubies rebounded with an afternoon win over Menlo Atherton 4-2 with SF sweeping the three doubles matches. Sophomores Izzy Asker and Alex Evans advanced with a 7-6, 7-6 win at No. 1, while junior Samantha Sonntag and freshman Safaa Umar won 6-1, 6-3. Sophomore Peyton Spellacy and senior Roya Pahlavan won a three-set battle at No. 3 with a 10-3 win in the tiebreaker set. Adithi Benush won her second straight match in the tournament to help the winning effort.

St. Francis took on Saint Francis of Mountain View in the consolation semifinals, advancing with a super tiebreaker victory. The format for the tournament included three singles and three doubles matches. When tied at 3, the last remaining match on the court continues play in a decisive 10-point set.

Spellacy and sophomore Bianca Ariza, who won their match at No. 3 doubles 6-4, 6-4, clinched the match with a 10-3 super tiebreaker win. Benush won her singles match at No. 3 and Evans/Asker won via a retirement by the Landers top doubles seed to setup the exciting finish.

Playing their fourth match in two days and fifth of the week, St. Francis took on Piedmont in the consolation finals for fifth place and the match had a similar ending. Izzy Asker won her singles match at No. 3 and the Troubadours took two doubles matches as Alisa Anwar and Sonntag won at No. 1 with Spellacy and Ariza pairing for a win at No. 3.

Anwar and Sonntag then drew the super tiebreaker duties, surviving with a 10-4 win.

Benush led the team with a 3-0 singles mark on the weekend, while Spellacy won three matches with two partners (Pahlavan/Ariza) including the super tiebreaker versus Saint Francis. Sonntag paired with her partners to win two matches including the decisive super tiebreaker against Piedmont.

St. Francis is now 7-1 on the season, returning to Delta League play on Tuesday against Sheldon at 3:45 at Rio del Oro Racquet Club.

Dana Hills 4, St. Francis 2

Singles

No. 1 Courtney Swift, Dana Hills def. Myra Anwar, St. Francis 6-1, 6-0

No. 2 Alisha Anwar (So.), St. Francis def. Layla Gravelle, Dana Hills 6-2, 6-2      

No. 3 Adithi Benush (Jr.), St. Francis def. GG Banducci, Dana Hills 6-3, 6-0

Doubles

No. 1 Drye Fresenish/Ali Alga, Dana Hills def. Izzy Asker/Alex Evans, St. Francis 6-2, 6-2           

No. 2 Malia Rivera/Claire Tamadon, Dana Hills def. Samantha Sonntag/Safaa Umar, St. Francis 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-8)

No. 3 Caroline Allerman/Stila Fresenish, Dana Hills def. Bianca Ariza/Peyton Spellacy, St. Francis, 6-1, 6-0          

St. Francis 4, Menlo-Atherton 2

Singles

No. 1 Allison Brown, Menlo-Atherton def. Myra Anwar, St. Francis 7-6, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)

No. 2 Sophia Lengo, Menlo-Atherton def. Alisha Anwar, St. Francis 6-7, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7)

No. 3 Adithi Benush, St. Francis def. Charlotte Smith, Menlo-Atherton 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)             

Doubles

No. 1 Izzy Asker/Alex Evans, St. Francis def. Susan Marks/Elise Kratzer, Menlo-Atherton 7-6, 7-6

No. 2 Samantha Sonntag/Safaa Umar, St. Francis def. Laura Kirk/Maya Khodabachian, Menlo-Atherton 6-1, 6-3     

No. 3 Peyton Spellacy/Roya Pahlavan, St. Francis def. Dana Law/Lila Motamed, Menlo-Atherton 2-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-3)

St. Francis 4, Saint Francis 3

Singles

No. 1 Akanksha Pabari, Saint Francis def. Myra Anwar, St. Francis 6-1, 6-1       

No. 2 Katherine Simone, Saint Francis def. , St. Francis 6-1, 6-1           

No. 3 Adithi Benush, St. Francis def. Natalie Kha, Saint Francis 6-2, 6-4            

Doubles

No. 1 Alex Evans/Izzy Asker, St. Francis def. Olivia Huang/Rebecca Day, Saint Francis Retired, 1-1                       

No. 2 Emily Williams/Chelsea Kawamura, Saint Francis def. Samantha Sonntag/Safaa Umar, St. Francis, Ret. 6-3, 1-1       

No. 3 Peyton Spellacy/Bianca Ariza, St. Francis def. Elise Yang/Grace Phelps, Saint Francis 6-4, 6-3, 10-7*

St. Francis 4, Piedmont 3

Singles

No. 1 McKenna Thiel, Piedmont def. Myra Anwar, St. Francis 6-1, 6-1 

No. 2 Angela Huang, Piedmont def. Adithi Benush, St. Francis 6-3, 6-0             

No. 3 Izzy Asker, St. Francis def. Emily Becker, Piedmont 6-2, 6-2        

Doubles

No. 1 Alisha Anwar/Samantha Sonntag, St. Francis def. Noreen Auyoung/Lauren Young, Piedmont 6-2, 6-2 1-0 (10-4)*

No. 2 Audrey Edel/Marlovve McEfee, Piedmont def. Alex Evans/Roya Pahlavan, St. Francis 6-0, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7)

No. 3 Bianca Ariza/Peyton Spellacy, St. Francis def. Ella Lee/Audrey Call, Piedmont 6-1, 6-1    

*Super tiebreak to 10 points to decide match in last match on court is tied at 3-3