Central Valley senior Mikalynne Tapia and junior Aleena Higle competed at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II Girls Tennis Doubles Tournament on Nov. 7 at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville.

“Not a lot of players get to experience that kind of tournament,” Hawks’ head coach Nimrat Chahal said. “The competition is really high there. I wanted them to have fun.”

Higle and Tapia put up a fight in losing 6-3, 6-3 to Roseville’s Khloe Nguyen and Evana Sharma in the opening round.

Nguyen and Sharma fell 7-5, 6-0 to Manteca’s Emma Ngo and Shreya Raman in the quarterfinals.

“They were nervous,” Chahal said. “But that’s pretty normal when you see that high-level of competition. It’s intimidating. Overall, I can’t complain. They played hard. They did a good job of moving the ball around. Both of them had good serves. That allowed them to win some games. They worked well together.”

Higle, who will return to the team next season, gained valuable experience.

“She saw where she needs to get to compete at that level,” Chahal said. “Maybe, it motivates her to practice even harder in the offseason.”

Tapia represented the Hawks for the final time.

“It’s over but there’s nothing to be sad about,” Chahal said. “She accomplished a lot.”

Tapia and Higle advanced to Divisionals after becoming the fourth team from Central Valley to claim a league doubles championship.

They placed first at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Oct. 24 in Manteca.

Tapia and Higle won all four of their matches.

“It was an awesome moment for them, the program and the school,” Chahal said. 

Tapia was a member of Central Valley’s girls tennis team for three seasons.

“She did awesome,” Chahal said. “She worked really hard. She fell in love with the game. She turned out to be a really good player. I’m proud of her.”

Tapia compiled a 6-6 record while logging playing time at No. 2 singles during the regular season.

She lost in the opening round of the WAC Singles Tournament.

“She was consistent this year,” Chahal said.

Tapia contributed at No. 3 doubles as a sophomore.

“She got really good and was able to achieve a lot of things,” Chahal said. “Once you develop your play style, it helps a lot. She could move her serve around. She got good at changing the depths of her shots. She was a difficult player to read, which is huge in tennis.”

Higle had a productive third year with the Hawks.

She compiled a 7-5 record while logging playing time at No. 1 singles this fall.

She won one of two matches while reaching the quarterfinals of the WAC Singles Tournament.

Higle contributed at No. 3 singles as a sophomore and No. 3 doubles freshman year.

“She’s picked up things fast,” Chahal said. “She has good form. She has a really strong serve. Her power is what helped her to be successful. She’s getting better in all aspects of the game.”