Tennis Advances to Sac-Joaquin Section Championship
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – The St. Francis tennis team advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Championship for the second consecutive season with a 7-2 win over Davis in the semifinals on Tuesday at Rio del Oro Racquet Club. St. Francis (17-0), the top seed, will play No. 2 Del Oro on Thursday at a site to be determined.
“I am really excited for our girls,” said Head Coach Kristi Spector. “We knew the Davis team was going to flip their lineup a little bit because we had beat them twice in league play. We told our girls to stay strong and confident in their own play and not worry about the other side of the net. We had faith in them and our lineup that has been successful all the way through was going to be successful.”
St. Francis played strong across its lineup, taking five of the six singles matches in straight sets. Adithi Benush was a straight set winner at No. 2 with a 6-2, 7-6 over Lyna Jiang.
“It feels really good,” said Adithi Benush. “I am really happy for our team.”
Alisha Anwar, Kyla Jackson, Marisa Fat and Kiya Jackson were all straight set winners.
In doubles, sophomore Bianca Ariza and Alex Evans partnered to defeat Ellie Baker and Julia Pan 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
“We felt really great and I am proud of my partner and I,” said Ariza. “It feels awesome and we are really excited. We have worked really hard this season and we have a chance to go and potentially be the champions.”
Sam Sonntag and Peyton Spellacy completed the win with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 3.
“It was definitely our hardest match so far,” said senior Cameron Parra. “It is really exciting to win. We worked really hard to get to this point. We wanted to get back to NorCals where we ended our season last year.”
The Troubadours advance to their second straight section title match after losing to Oak Ridge last season. The team will earn an automatic berth in the CIF NorCals Nov. 17-18.
St. Francis 7, Davis 2
Singles
1. Lillian Okamoto, D, def. Myra Anwar, SF, 6-1, 6-2
2. Adithi Benush, SF, def. Lyna Jiang, D, 6-2, 7-6
3. Alisha Anwar, SF, def. Maggie Warren, D, 6-0, 6-0
4. Kyla Jackson, SF, def. Reyna Shauman, D, 6-1, 6-0
5. Marisa Fat, SF, def. Sophia Zhiang, D, 6-0, 6-0
6. Kiya Jackson, SF, def. Grace Ji, D, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. Nancy Avoce/Danielle Bollinger def. Cameron Parra/Izzy Asker, 7-6, ret.
2. Alex Evans/Bianca Ariza, SF, def. Ellie Baker/Julia Pan, D, 6-2, 6-2
3. Sam Sonntag/Peyton Spellacy, SF, def. MaruMarquez/Michela Gunther, D, 6-1, 6-4