Central Valley varsity girls tennis players Bandna Bhatti and Virginia Moore welcomed the challenge of competing against the top seed at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II Doubles Tournament on Nov. 7 at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville.

“They looked pretty comfortable out there,” head coach Mike Rodriguez said. “I thought there would be some nerves playing the top seed. They had fun.”

Bhatti and Moore lost 6-1, 6-0 to Armijo’s Faustina Wan and Flora Wan in the first round.

“The points were competitive at times,” Rodriguez said. “The other team didn’t make many mistakes. They were more consistent.”

Bhatti and Moore made program history this fall by becoming the second doubles team from Central Valley to claim a league championship and qualify for the section tournament.

Seeded third, Bhatti and Moore compiled a perfect 4-0 record en route finishing in first place at the Central California Conference Tournament.

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

“It’s a credit to all the work they put in since the summer,” Rodriguez said. “They got better throughout the whole season. We’d end practice at 5 p.m. They’d want to stay until 5:30 or 6.”

“We worked so hard all season,” Bhatti added. “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.”