Jasmine Sandhu admitted that the pressure got to her in the early going.

Playing from the No. 2 singles spot for Manteca High’s girls tennis team, there’s an expectation that the four-year varsity player and team captain puts on herself to perform.

Her Buffaloes fell 6-3 to visiting Oakmont of Roseville in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II team tennis playoffs Monday, but she provided one of the few highlights.

Sandhu trailed 2-4 to Kate Smith at one point in the opening set but came back to prevail 7-5, 6-3. Sandhu said Smith is one of the best players she has ever faced, making the win that much more gratifying.

“It was more for the team than it was for me,” she said. “Even if we were losing, I just wanted to keep things loose for my teammates. We have a good time and that’s how we play better.”

Oakmont, the No. 3 seed out of the Capital Valley Conference, will take on Capital Athletic League champion Mira Loma today in Sacramento. Manteca (12-4) was the runner-up in the Valley Oak League.

Sandhu is just one of three senior starters on the team, and the others play doubles.

First-year senior Mia Ramirez and her No. 1 doubles partner Kaile Hunt capped a strong season by upending Maria Mikhaylishin and Anoli Kothari, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. The Hunt-Ramirez tandem nearly blew the second set after leading 5-2, and in the final game Hunt came through with a big volley for a point.

Hunt and Ramirez finished undefeated in dual matches, going 16-0 overall. Ramirez is a standout in basketball and softball, and she makes up for her inexperience in tennis with natural athleticism.

“I didn’t think we do as well as we did this season,” Ramirez said. “It was nice to get that last win.”

Manteca got its third point from the final match of the day at No. 3 doubles. Noha Elabed and Sealy McAdams defeated Kaitlin Geissberger and Meagan McGill 10-4 in the superset tiebreaker after splitting the first two, 3-6, 7-5.

Liz Diaz and Ruth Habte, the third senior of the bunch, dropped the No. 2 doubles contest, 1-6, 1-6.

In singles, No. 4 Rosa Zou and No. 6 Jenny Yu lost competitive matches. Zou lost to Lauren Griffin, 5-7, 4-6; and Yu was edged by Aria Sherazee, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6.

Wendy Lin lost to sophomore standout Megan Sullivan 2-6, 2-6 in the No. 1 contest. Weley Lin (2-6, 3-6) was beaten at No. 3, as was Adaeze Nkwocha (2-6, 0-6) at No. 5.

Wendy Lin and Zou will compete as a doubles team Thursday in the SJS Division-II individual tournament in Roseville.

Sixth-year head coach MaryAnn Tolbert was disappointed in the loss but also realizes that her program made a big step this season. She said it has been 20 years since a Manteca girls tennis team last qualified for the section playoffs.

The future looks bright with all but three players returning. The VOL’s expansion from a seven-player format to the section’s 12 this year has been a boost for the Buffaloes.

“We’re building a program,” Tolbert said. “A lot of them stuck it out even when we were playing only seven. They came to practice every day even though they knew they weren’t going to be in the starting lineup.

“This year we expanded to 12, and this format is good for us because we have a deep team. Their hard work is what got us here.”

Two-time defending VOL champion Weston Ranch was awarded a first-round bye and will face Christian Brothers or Whitney today.