ROSEVILLE — Nadia Petrovic and Ellie Kim’s Cinderella run came to an end in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Doubles Tournament semifinals Monday at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club.
The Sierra tandem was swept by Rio Americano’s Lexi Accinelli and Emma Chally, 3-6, 1-6. Petrovic and Kim then faced No. 4-seeded Amy Lanlois and Claire Chally, also of Rio Americano, in the third-place match and fell, 2-8.
“Playing in the section tournament you’re getting all the best players together,” Sierra coach Ed Melfort said. “I liken it to the NCAA basketball tournament; they had their run and the other team was just the better team.
“They went out and fought against some very good players. My girls played well.”
Petrovic and Kim, a sophomore and freshman, respectively, opened tournament play last Thursday with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 upset of second-seeded Jacey VanAlen and Ania Lobsinger of Ponderosa. They advanced to Monday’s semifinal with a 6-1, 6-3 win over American Canyon’s Amber Monteleone and Lylah Awad.
The top-seeded McClatchy duo of Taylor Ishida and Natalie Wong claimed the Division II crown with its 6-3, 7-5 victory over Accinelli and Chally. They earlier ousted the Langlois-Chally pair by the same score.
Sierra, the Valley Oak League’s runner-up team, had three players qualify for the section individual tournaments. Sophomore Kaitlyn Rausa, the Timberwolves’ top player and VOL singles champion, received a tough draw last Thursday and lost to No. 1 seed Mia Linam of Cosumnes Oaks, 1-6, 1-6. Linam went on to capture the Division II singles title.
VOL champions Ravneet Dhillon and Navina Mann also competed in the Division II doubles tourney but dropped a 2-6, 6-3, 1-6 opener to Rio American’s Langlois-Chally team.
Manteca is the No. 1 seed of the SJS Division III team playoffs and hosts No. 5 Mira Loma in the semifinals today. In Division IV, No. 4 Sierra travels to top-seeded Los Banos. Both matches start at 2 p.m.
“It’s promising to have my Nos. 1, 2 and 3 players make sections, and they’re all underclassmen,” Melfort said. “I told them not to hang their heads, because we have another one (today).”
