Members of Central Valley’s and Ceres High’s girls tennis programs traveled to Manteca last week to compete at the Western Athletic Conference Championships.

The Hawks had a doubles team place first for the third year in a row.

Central Valley’s Serath Birring and Valerie Espinoza won all four of their matches en route to claiming the title.

“It’s an amazing feeling to make history,” Birring said.

Birring and Espinoza topped Hawk teammates Natalia Campos and Lizette Tafolla 6-4, 4-6, 10-3 in the finals on Thursday.

“Our coaches stayed quiet,” Birring said. “They let us figure it out. It was an exciting match. We ended up going three sets. There was no pressure. We fixed our mistakes quickly. We didn’t mess around. We wanted to win.”

Espinoza won her second straight doubles title. She teamed up with Aaliyah Jauregui to knock off Birring and Emily Carranza in the finals a year ago.

Birring gained a measure of redemption this fall.

“We were confident going into the tournament,” Birring said. “We knew our hard work was going to pay off. We communicated really well. That was one of our biggest strengths.”

Birring and Espinoza collected wins against Livingston’s Nyimah Nuno and Jennifer Ramos (6-4, 6-0) in the semifinals, Johansen’s Divina Garcia and Stephanie Oraha (4-6, 6-0, 10-3) in the quarterfinals and Beyer’s Mariam Alwakeel and Evie Butler (6-4, 6-1) in the first round.

Campos and Tafolla compiled a 3-1 record.

They beat Livingston’s Ramanpreet Saini and Janice Ybarra (6-2, 6-3) in the semifinals, Johansen’s Kiara Carlson and Olivia Sanchez (6-1, 3-6, 10-6) in the quarterfinals and Pacheco’s Noemi Oviedo and Kim Celio (6-1, 6-4) in the first round.

Ceres High’s Helena Trujillo and Xaimara Corona Trujillo lost to Johansen’s Divina Garcia and Stephanie Oraha (7-6, 5-7, 10-5) in the first round.

“I was happy with their overall performance,” Bulldogs’ head coach Jesse Apodaca said. “They should have won.”

Ceres High’s Yuleki Felix and Cazandra Fregoso lost to Johansen’s Kiara Carlson and Olivia Sanchez (7-5, 6-3) in the opening round.

“It was a winnable match,” Apodaca stated. “They lost because they made too many errors. With that being said, they were close to forcing a tiebreak. They were up 3-2 in the second set. Johansen won four games in a row.”

Central Valley’s Emily Carranza reached the finals of the WAC singles tournament.

“My goal was to have fun,” she said. “Placing second was kind of a surprise. Making it that far in the tournament is an accomplishment. I was proud to be able to represent my school.”

Carranza lost 7-6, 6-4 to Pacheco’s Angela Gomez-Vega during the championship match on Thursday.

“Even though I lost, it was a huge learning experience,” she said. “I was able to showcase my skills against someone who is really good.”

Carranza beat Beyer’s Milla Pineda (7-6, 6-2) in the semifinals, Ceres High’s Helena Trujillo (6-0, 6-2) in the quarterfinals and Livingston’s Nyimah Nuno (6-0 6-1) in the first round.

“It’s my second year playing,” Carranza said. “I made a lot of progress.”

Central Valley sophomore Serath Birring placed fourth with a 3-1 record.

She fell one win shy of advancing to the championship.

“I’m happy with the outcome,” Birring said.

“It would have been a fun match if I made it to the finals to play Emily,” she added.

Birring lost 6-2, 6-4 to Pineda during the third-place match on Thursday.

She was beaten by eventual-champion Gomez-Vega (7-6, 6-3) in the semifinals.

She bested Livingston’s Jazleen Torres (6-0, 6-1) in the quarterfinals and Beyer’s Mariam Alwakeel (6-3, 6-3) in the first round.

Ceres High’s Helena Trujillo defeated Grace Davis’ Madeline Micheletti (6-1, 6-3) in the first round.

Trujillo lost to Central Valley’s Emily Carranza (6-0, 6-2) in the quarterfinals.

“It’s probably her best performance of the entire year,” Apodaca said. “She had a nothing-to-lose attitude, which freed her up. She was hitting with more confidence.”

Ceres High’s Yuleki Felix lost to Gomez-Vega (6-1, 6-1) in the opening round.

“The girl from Pacheco (Gomez-Vega) served first and Yuleki broke her,” Apodaca said. “She was up 1-0. She didn’t win another game after that. It comes down to a lack of experience. Yuleki tried. Good effort.”