Sophomore Ellie Kim became eligible just in time for Manteca’s pivotal Valley Oak League match with visiting Central Catholic on Tuesday.
The Sierra transfer completed the 30-day sit-out period and helped the Buffaloes roll to a lopsided 8-1 win in the first-place battle. Playing from the No. 3 singles spot, Kim made quick work of Anne Dunne, 6-1, 6-0.
The addition of Kim certainly strengthens the top of the ladder for Manteca, the defending VOL champion and 2017 Sac-Joaquin Section Division III finalist. She was a key player while with cross-town rival Sierra, helping the Timberwolves reach the SJS Division IV finals last year.
“I was prepared for this moment for a month,” Kim said. “I was actually kind of nervous for this match, but everyone was really supportive. We marked our calendars for this, and I was totally ready for it.”
It’s the first time this season that the still-undefeated Buffaloes (6-0, 10 overall) got to field their full squad. Navina Mann, a VOL Doubles Tournament champion, returned to the lineup after missing the last two league matches with knee tendonitis. She defeated Isabella Naraghi 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 4 match.
“She showed up big today and played through the pain to get us that win,” Manteca coach MaryAnn Tolbert said of Mann. “We were crunching numbers thinking we would need every single one.
“Everyone knew this was a do-or-die type thing, because we didn’t want to go over there and be down one.”
Even with the team at full strength, Tolbert was concerned with the doubles teams that have not been solidified until now. They proved up to the task.
The No. 1 duo of Noeli Mercado and Melissa Poncini ended the day with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Joecelia Roberts and Isabella Kacho. The second and third doubles teams — Kalissa Martin/Yanki Ma and Isabella Huerta/Danielle Diaz — both held on for 6-3, 7-5 wins.
“They showed up to play today,” Tolbert said. “This is literally our first match with our whole team together, and this is what we’re going to look like the rest of the year.”
Sahiba Kaur (6-0, 6-2), Makenna Condit (6-0, 6-0) and Kerren Zou (6-0, 7-5) were other singles winners. Julia Tang dropped a 2-6, 0-6 decision to Central Catholic No. 1 Colleen Ballatore, a sophomore who remains undefeated in league. The Raiders (5-1, 7-2) host Manteca on Oct. 11.

Sierra 9, East Union 0
Lilliana Vang held off Karina Schambeck 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to help preserve the shutout for visiting Sierra (3-3).
Kaitlyn Rausa (6-0, 6-0), Nadia Petrovic (6-1, 6-1), Melanie Nguyen (6-2, 6-0), Joyce Sebastian (6-0, 6-0) and Jasmine Sebastian (6-1, 6-0) contributed singles wins. Doubles winners were Gedona Kate/Kendall Sellers (6-2, 6-3), Gurnoor Guran/Varsha Bala and Arees Choodhury/Brianna Villalobos (6-0, 6-2).

Lathrop 6, Johansen 3
The Spartans picked up their second victory in the Western Athletic Conference on Monday.
The bulk of their points came from singles, as Darlene Hoang (6-1, 6-1), Bernice Vilches (6-3, 6-0), Tammy Pham (6-1, 6-4), Harman Garcha (7-5, 6-4) and Kim Bareng (6-3, 6-4) recording sweeps.
The No. 2 doubles team of Harleen Bal and Makayla Ruiz contributed a 6-3, 6-4 win.