In a cross-town Valley Oak League match, the Manteca High girls tennis squad came away with a 7-2 win Tuesday at Sierra.

The Buffaloes (4-1) swept doubles play highlighted by their No. 2 team of Liz Diaz and Ruth Habte needing a tie-breaking set to finally get past the Timberwolves’ Brenda Padilla and Emma Hunter, 6-2, 6-7 (4-7 tiebreaker), 12-10.

Manteca’s No. 1 team of Kailee Hunt and Mia Ramirez were straight-set winners over Annie Banks and Rosalie Reynolds (6-0, 6-1), while Aleeyah Corboda and Noha Elabed rolled past Sierra’s No. 3 duo of Liana Bassett and Gerey Burgullas (6-3, 6-2).

In singles, the Timberwolves’ top player Vannida Nguyen continued her strong play. She defeated Wendy Lin in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Naomi Nunis, Sierra’s No. 4 singles player, also won, needing three sets to edge out Rosa Zou (4-6, 6-2, 6-1).

However, the Buffaloes’ No. 2 player Jasmine Sandhu edged out Imani Burks (6-4, 6-4); No. 3 player Weley Lin also won in two hard-fought sets over Anna Cardenas (7-5, 6-3); Adaeze Nkwocha, Manteca’s No. 5 singles, handled Kelly Fuentes in two sets (6-2, 6-2); and No. 6 singles Jenny Yu took care of Sierra’s Maddie Banks in three sets (6-3, 2-6, 6-3).

On Thursday, Manteca will travel to first-place Weston Ranch while Sierra goes to Sonora.



Weston Ranch 8, Kimball 1

The Cougars (4-0) stayed atop of the VOL standings by stopping visiting Kimball on Tuesday.

“Minutes before the match, my No. 3 singles player Samantha Paras sprained her ankle,” said Weston Ranch coach Jason Furtado. “We were forced to move all of our players up a seed.

“Everyone stepped up their game and we were able to get the win despite the huge disadvantage.”

The Cougars were led by their top singles player Ly Hoang, who handled Andrea Candalla in straight sets (6-0, 6-4).

Aarelle Albino, the Cougars’ No. 2, swept past Krishna Sankara (6-4, 6-2); Weston Ranch’s No. 4 Cristina Poklay needed three sets to beat Perlizo Delgado (6-3, 5-7, 6-4); No. 5 Rainah Baet took care of Kylie Moxley in straight sets (6-1, 6-3); and No. 6 Nancy Nguyen also won in two sets, beating Tavleen Takhar (6-2, 6-2).

In doubles, Weston Ranch’s top pair Sierra Bowen and Haruna Higashi defeated Kimball’s Analynne Madria and Natasha Cardosa in two sets (6-4, 6-4).

In addition, the Cougars’ No. 2 team of Cinda Moua and Delarine Barut won in straight sets (6-4, 6-3) as did No. 3 duo of Aby Balingit and Cristine Agcanas (6-4, 7-5).



Oakdale 5, East Union 4

Strong efforts by the Lancers’ top singles player Rebecca Jacobson along with No. 2 player Ashley Duenas wasn’t enough to get past host Oakdale on Tuesday.

East Union (1-4) also got victories from No. 4 singles Brooke Niendorf and No. 5 player Jocylin Meza.

The Lancers had trouble in doubles play, with No. 3 singles Klasey Kachalkin suffering a hard-fought loss.

“We had a great opportunity to win the match,” said East Union coach Julia Bylow.

She praised the efforts of several of her players.

“Rebecca is finding her groove and she and Ashley are coming on strong. Brooke (Niendorf) has been steady for us all season,” Bylow added.

East Union will host Lathrop on Thursday and will close out the first half early next week against Sierra.



Sonora 9, Lathrop 0

Despite the loss, Spartans coach Rebecca Whitlock came away encouraged by her No. 2 doubles team.

Angie Rodriguez and Michelle Alaniz proved to be competitive despite losing in straight sets (4-6, 5-7).

“Both girls played passionately and came off the court proud of their efforts,” she said.

Whitlock added, “We were encouraged by the progress of all the girls. We have a young program and so many of our players are new to tennis and really need to focus on growth of their ability rather than scores.”