Central Valley varsity girls tennis teammates Bandna Bhatti and Virginia Moore turned in a surprising performance while competing at the Central California Conference Doubles Tournament on Oct. 22 in Merced.

Seeded third, Bhatti and Moore compiled a perfect 4-0 record en route claiming the title at Golden Valley High School.

“We exceeded our expectations,” Bhatti said. “We didn’t think we were going to win. We were playing to have fun. We were in disbelief when it happened.”

Bhatti and Moore defeated Merced’s top-seeded tandem of Kate Colvin and Laura Ness 6-2, 6-1 in the finals.

“We won a lot of deuce points,” Bhatti said.

Bhatti and Moore bested Buhach Colony’s Leah Chapman and Leigh Ballesil 2-6, 6-4, 10-6 in the semifinals, Patterson’s Jazmine Perez and Johanna Camberos 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals and El Capitan’s Serenna Malhi and Shiwani Lata 6-1, 6-4 in the first round.

“We both have a different set of skills that helped us be successful,” Bhatti said. 

Friends since the second grade, Bhatti and Moore joined rare company by claiming Central Valley’s second doubles championship in girls tennis.

Claudia Martinez, Moore’s cousin, and Lupe Becerra placed first at the Western Athletic Conference Doubles Tournament in 2016.

“We worked so hard all season,” Bhatti said. “For that to happen is pretty phenomenal. It’s a great feeling. We get to bask in the glory of winning. Next year, we’ll try to win the title again.”

Bhatti and Moore played doubles together for the first time last week.

Bhatti and Moore started at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, during the WAC regular season.

“We’ve both improved so much,” Bhatti said. 

Bhatti and Moore will represent Central Valley at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II Doubles Tournament on Nov. 7 in Roseville.

“We plan on practicing the next week and a half to prepare for sections,” Bhatti said. “We want to have fun, compete and see how far we can get.”