Central Valley’s girls tennis team won one of two matches on its way to a top-eight finish in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II Playoff Tournament for the second year in a row this past week.
“It’s the best season we’ve had,” Hawks’ head coach Nimrat Chahal said. “We accomplished so many things this year. A lot of positives.”
“We exceeded our expectations for this year,” Central Valley No. 1 singles player Aleena Higle said. “All of our hard work made us successful.”
The Hawks compiled a program-best 17-2 overall record, defended their Western Athletic Conference title with a perfect 14-0 mark and earned their second playoff victory in as many years.
The Hawks have won their last 26 WAC matches dating back to last season.
Central Valley also had two singles players and a pair of doubles teams reach the finals of the WAC Championships. Higle and Harkiran Sandhu both advanced to the Section’s Individual Singles Tournament. Aaliyah Jauregui and Valerie Espinoza, and Emily Carranza and Serath Birring were awarded berths to the Individual Doubles Tournament.
“What these girls did was out of this world,” Chahal said. “They dominated. I’m not sure this will be repeated. It’s not something we’re going to take for granted.”
“We had a great season,” Higle added. “We all did a really good job this year.”
Eighth-seeded Central Valley topped ninth-seeded Monterey Trail 6-3 in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 3 in Ceres.
“We didn’t know what to expect going into the match because they’re not in our league,” Chahal said. “I had a good feeling during warmups. Our girls were hitting the ball really well.”
The Hawks won four of six singles and two of three doubles matches versus the Mustangs.
“We played like we had nothing to lose,” Higle said.
Higle defeated Monterey Trail’s Chloe Saechao 6-0, 6-4 in No. 1 singles play.
Jauregui defeated Rachel Song 6-0, 6-0 in No. 3 singles play.
Birring defeated Neha Banwait 6-3, 6-1 in No. 5 singles play.
Roxana Orozco defeated Ava Nguyen 6-4, 6-1 in No. 6 singles play.
Valeria Sanchez and Selena Cubillo defeated Amy Mai and Lindsey Wong 6-2, 6-2 in No. 2 doubles play.
Carranza and Natalia Campos defeated Vivika Nguyen and Patricia Nguyen 6-1, 6-2 in No. 3 doubles play.
Sandhu lost 6-1, 6-2 to Natalie Saelor in No. 2 singles play.
Espinoza lost 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 to Han Do in No. 4 singles play.
Genesis Velazquez Pedraza and Illyana Vidal lost 6-1, 7-5 to Allison Malapit and Evelyn Rivera in No. 1 doubles play.
Central Valley closed out the 2025 season with a 9-0 road loss to top-seeded Del Oro in the quarterfinals on Nov. 4.
“We lost to the best team,” Chahal said. “It’s a whole different level of tennis up there (Sacramento area). Their girls have been playing tennis longer than our girls. You could see it on the court.”
The Hawks dropped all six singles and three doubles matches to the Golden Eagles.
“Their girls had more experience,” Higle stated. “We played the best that we could.”
Higle lost 6-1, 6-0 to Avery Phillips in No. 1 singles play.
Sandhu lost 6-0, 6-1 to Raina Banks in No. 2 singles play.
Jauregui lost 6-4, 6-0 to Rylan Tucker in No. 3 singles play.
Espinoza lost 6-4, 6-1 to Sutton Carter in No. 4 singles play.
Birring lost 6-0, 6-2 to Estela Vesga in No. 5 singles play.
Orozco lost 6-0, 6-3 to Maegan Tweet in No. 6 singles play.
Velazquez Pedraza and Vidal lost 6-0, 6-0 to Briana Poll and Jorja Veach in No. 1 doubles play.
Cubillo and Sanchez lost 7-6, 6-1 to Aubrie Holthaus and Brooklyn Tallman in No. 2 doubles play.
Carranza and Campos lost 6-1, 6-2 to Severine Druart and Katherine Wysoki in No. 3 doubles play.
“It was a good experience for our girls to get to play the top seed,” Chahal said. “They have a great team from top to bottom. They have more experience.”
Central Valley’s team roster will look drastically different next season as 10 players will be lost to graduation, including Higle, Sandhu, Jauregui, Orozco, Cubillo, Sanchez, Vidal, Jameelah Martin Del Campo, Elizabeth Alvarez and Jaqueline Padilla.
Higle, Vidal and Sanchez were four-year contributors.
Sandhu, Jauregui and Orozco all suited up for the team for three seasons.
Higle, Sandhu, Jaregui and Orozco had a combined record of 51-1 in singles play during the WAC regular season this fall.
Higle, Jauregui and Orozco were undefeated.
Sandhu lost just one match.
Cubillo and Sanchez won all 12 of their matches in No. 2 doubles play.
Vidal made up one half of Central Valley’s near-perfect No. 1 doubles team, which posted a 10-1 record.
“We’re losing a lot of good tennis players,” Chahal said. “They were a talented group. They were committed. They worked hard. They were getting better every day. They had fun. They earned everything.”
Espinoza, Birring, Velazquez Pedraza, Carranza, Campos, Samantha Sarabia, Yahiza Bustos, Lauren Salvatera, Karla Robles, Evelyn Quezada and Angie Luna could return to the team in 2026.
“We won’t put pressure on the next group,” Chahal said. “We’re younger. We’re going to try to build.”
“Our tennis program has grown so much,” Higle added. “Our younger players have so much to look forward to.”
