Kim ended a decades-long drought for her school and the city by winning the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Individual Tournament singles championship last week in Roseville.

She upset top-seeded Clarissa Sutami of Vista del Lago 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 in the final round on Nov. 5. Kim, a junior, was the No. 3 seed.

Only two other females from the Manteca area have claimed singles titles, and they did it nearly 40 years ago. MHS alums Ranata Scholl and Lynn Henderson won it back-to-back in 1982 and 83. Katie Gaynor, who also played at Manteca, reached the final in 1987 and finished as the runner-up.

Kim is the first Buffalo since Gaynor to make the title round. In the semifinal, she took the first set 6-1 before her opponent, No. 2 Libby Griggs of Rio Americano, withdrew. She coasted past Mountain House’s Subha Patel 6-3, 6-1 and Vanden’s Maya Khanna, 6-2, 6-2 on the first day of the tournament.

Kim goes into her senior year with an impressive résumé. As a freshman, she was the No. 1 player for the SJS Division III championship team and also took second at the individual tournament with doubles partner Sahiba Kaur. This season, she went undefeated in winning the Valley Oak League singles crown.