To keep her undefeated record and capture the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Individual Tournament singles championship on Friday, Manteca freshman Hailie Kim had to get past the reigning titleholder who was also riding an unbeaten streak.
Kim was challenged for the first time in her young high school career. She even dropped a set for the first time.
The overall experience made victory even sweeter, and she got to celebrate the hard-earned 7-6 (5), 5-7, 10-5 victory over Roseville senior Ella Fuchs with a handful of teammates and coaches who made the trip to support her.
“After I shook her hand and put my things away, I got a little emotional when I saw my teammates running to me,” Kim said. “Them celebrating and cheering me on meant a lot to me. Seeing them happy made me really happy.”
Battling nerves throughout the second day of the tournament, the top-seeded Kim credited coaches MaryAnn Tolbert, Lizzie Tolbert, Mike Lopez and Beto Lopez-Ellis for getting her through the toughest matches of the season.
She first downed No. 4 Valeria Ramirez of River Valley, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
“After being up early, I guess I got a little too confident in myself and started making a lot of mistakes while trying to end the point faster,” Kim said. “But I had a long talk with my coach Mike, and I was able to pull through in the tiebreaker.”
The second set was business as usual for Kim, the Valley Oak League champion with a 25-0 record.
The second-seeded Fuchs, however, was unlike any other she has faced so far, at the high school level. Fuchs finished 24-0 in garnering the section’s Division II singles crown last year, and she was 21-0 heading into Friday’s final.
“I was really nervous today, especially because I was really unsure of how to play” Kim said. “I knew the name of my opponent in the finals, but I didn’t know anything about how she played.
“She had a lot of hard shots, and when I was watching her (semifinal match) that made me really nervous. She was playing extremely well, and I knew it was going to be very different to play her.”
Kim joins rarified air with this big achievement. She is just the fourth tennis player from both her school and the city to claim an individual section championship. The last two do it — older sister went back-to-back in 2021-22. Ranata Scholl and Lynn Henderson were the trailblazers back in 1982 and 1983, respectively.
The younger Kim, who planned on enjoying “a very fun night” following the win, has not yet processed where this places her historically.
“Honestly, I haven’t really thought about it,” Hailie said. “It just hasn’t set in yet. Maybe in a couple of days.”
Understandable, since her season is not over yet.
On Monday, she and the rest of the Buffaloes are back in action for the SJS Division III team playoffs. They’re heading to Sacramento hoping to upset No. 1-seeded Rio Americano.
“I’m very excited for that,” Kim said. “I’m really looking forward to our match. I love my team so much, and even if we don’t do well I feel we’ll be OK, because we get along so well and support each other.”
