No longer in the same league due to the Sac-Joaquin Section’s conference realignment plan, Central Valley’s and Ceres High’s varsity girls tennis programs kept their crosstown series alive by facing off in the preseason this past week.

The Hawks earned a hard-fought 6-3 victory while battling the host Bulldogs on Aug. 27.

“It’s good to keep the rivalry going with them,” Central Valley head coach Mike Rodriguez said. “We’ve played so many times against each other.”

“We’ll always play them in the preseason,” Ceres High head coach Brandon Moring said. “We’re from the same town. The girls value the rivalry.”

The Hawks won all three doubles and three of six singles matches versus the Bulldogs last week.

Daniela Yepez and Virginia Moore defeated Jillian Jimenez and Christel Ontiveros 6-0, 6-1 in No. 1 doubles play.

Christina Hermenegildo and Lizbeth Martinez defeated Jasmine Bahia and Monica Esparza 6-1, 6-0 in No. 2 doubles play. 

Sabina Dhillon and Priscilla Sanchez defeated Daniela Nunez and Elena Ochoa 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), (7-6) 7-3 in No. 3 doubles play.

Lupe Becerra defeated Shania Evans 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 singles play.

Elisabeth Valdez defeated Morgan Bejaran 6-0, 6-0 in No. 5 singles play.

Bandna Bhatti defeated Gurmanjit Bahia 6-2, 6-1 in No. 6 singles play.

Gianna Arce lost 6-4, 6-3 to Vivian Moreno in No. 1 singles play.

Suinana Dhillon lost 6-2, 6-3 to Camille Vega in No. 3 singles play.

Mixtly Vega lost 6-4, 6-2 to Tania Garfias in No. 4 singles play.

“It was a pretty competitive match,” Rodriguez said.

“It should have been 5-4,” Moring said. “It was back and forth.”

The Hawks improved their all-time record against the Bulldogs to 10-16.

Central Valley has won 10 of the last 11 meetings dating back to the 2013 campaign.

The Hawks topped the Bulldogs twice by identical 9-0 scores last fall.

Ceres High won the first 15 head-to-head matchups.

The Bulldogs and Hawks have secured a combined 11 playoff berths the previous 11 years.

Ceres High has advanced to the postseason eight times.

Central Valley made program history by qualifying for the postseason for the first time in 2014. The Hawks returned to the playoffs in 2015 and 2017.

“This is my first year coaching girls tennis,” Moring said. “I can’t speak on the past. All that stuff doesn’t matter to me.”