A newcomer to the Central California Conference, it hasn’t taken Central Valley’s varsity girls tennis team to ascend to the top of the standings.
The Hawks moved into a three-way tie for first place in the CCC with Merced and El Capitan following last week’s sweep of Golden Valley and Livingston.
"We have a ton of experience and depth. It’s basically the same team as last year.”Coach Rodriguez
“It’s what I thought we’d be able to do if we played well,” head coach Rodriguez said. “We have a ton of experience and depth. It’s basically the same team as last year.”
The Hawks improved to 4-1 in the CCC standings after Thursday’s 8-1 triumph over previously-unbeaten Golden Valley on the road.
“It was a huge win for us,” Rodriguez said. “The score was surprising. We had a good practice and put together a good match.”
Central Valley took all three doubles and five of six singles matches from Golden Valley.
Lupe Becerra won 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles.
Gianna Arce won 7-5, 6-0 at No. 2 singles.
Sunaina Dhillon won 6-3, 3-2 (retired) at No. 3 singles.
Elisabeth Valdez won 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5 singles.
Bandha Bhatti won 7-5, 6-2 at No. 6 singles.
Daniela Yepez and Virginia Moore won 6-1, 7-5 at No. 1 doubles.
Christina Hermenegildo and Lizbeth Martinez won 6-3, 3-6, 13-11 at No. 2 doubles.
Sabina Dhillon and Priscilla Sanchez won 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 at No. 3 doubles.
Mixtly Vega lost 7-5, 7-5 at No. 4 singles.
“We were in a four-way tie for first place with Golden Valley and the two other schools from Merced going into the match,” Rodriguez said. “The girls were motivated.”
Central Valley shut out host Livingston 9-0 on Sept. 11.
“We took care of business like we were supposed to against a team that doesn’t have any wins,” Rodriguez said.
Becerra defeated Viridiana Cerda 6-0, 6-2 in No. 1 singles play.
Arce defeated Erica Lomeli 6-0, 6-2 in No. 2 singles play.
Sunaina Dhillon defeated Bernice Arias 6-2, 6-0 in No. 3 singles play.
Vega defeated Arianna Walker 6-1, 6-0 in No. 4 singles play.
Vadez defeated Jenny Garcia 6-0, 6-0 in No. 5 singles play.
Bhatti defeated Migdalya Pacheco 6-4, 6-1 in No. 6 singles play.
Yepez and Moore defeated Monica Maldonado and Stefanie Ramos 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 doubles play.
Hermenegildo and Martinez defeated Yvette Alvarez and Emily Molina 6-4, 6-3 in No. 2 doubles play.
Sanchez and Sabina Dhillon defeated Jennifer Lozano and Cynthia Garcia 6-2, 6-4 in No. 3 doubles play.
Central Valley will play Merced and Patterson this week.
“The wins haven’t been easy,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of the (singles and doubles) matches have been competitive. There’s a lot of parody in this league.”
