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Sierra doubles reach section semis
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ROSEVILLE — Sierra’s Nadia Petrovic and Ellie Kim were not intimidated by their first-round assignment Thursday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Tournament at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club.

After pulling off a three-set upset against the second-seeded tandem, the two Timberwolves swept past their next opponent and will return Monday to make their surprising semifinal appearance. The second day of the tournament was originally scheduled to take place today but has been postponed because of expected rain.

Petrovic and Kim, both underclassmen, dropped a three-set heartbreaker to Manteca rivals Ravneet Dhillon and Navina Mann in the Valley Oak League Doubles Tournament finals last week. The experience proved to be valuable in their stunning 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Ponderosa’s Jacy VanAlen and Ania Lobsinger in the section opener Thursday.

They then coasted past Amber Monteleone and Lylah Awad of American Canyon, 6-1, 6-3.

“Playing a great team like Manteca this season has helped us because of how intense those matches were — they’ve been through it,” Sierra coach Ed Melfort said. “The team they beat was really good. It shows how battle-tested our girls are.”

Petrovic and Kim will meet Rio Americano’s Lexi Accinelli and Emma Chally in the semifinal round. Accinelli and Chally also knocked off a seeded opponent, holding off No. 3 Madeline Beyer and Madison Lammert of Benicia, 7-6 (5), 6-3. 

The other section qualifiers from the area were eliminated in the opening round. 

Dhillon and Mann were matched with Rio Americano’s Amy Langlois and Claire Chally, the No. 4-seeded doubles team, and lost, 2-6, 6-3, 1-6. The Langlois-Chally duo faces top-seeded Taylor Ishida and Natalie Wong of McClatchy in the other semifinal.

Rio Americano is the No. 2 seed in the SJS Division III team playoffs, while reigning champion Manteca is the top seed. They are a win away from matching up in the final next week.

In singles play, VOL champion Kaitlyn Rausa from Sierra drew top-seeded Mia Linam of Cosumnes Oaks and fell, 1-6, 1-6.