SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The top-seeded St. Francis tennis team swept No. 9 Oak Ridge on Tuesday in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Team Tennis playoffs at Rio del Oro Racquet Club.
"Oak Ridge has always been strong competition for us," said Head Coach Kristi Spector. "We had not played them this year and we had to come out and play our very best. It was a great statement heading into next week."
St. Francis (19-1) lost a combined 11 games in singles as the Troubadours showed their lineup depth.
"We are fortunate that on any given day our 2 thru 6 are interchangeable," said Spector. "The reason was are successful in so many matches is we have a deep ladder. The strength of our team goes all the way through."
Senior Adithi Benush led off the team at the top spot, posting a 6-1, 6-1 win over Clara Hill-Gaston. Junior Alisha Anwar defeated Madison Moore by the game score, while senior Samantha Sonntag was equally impressive winning 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3.
Sophomore Safaa Umar remained unbeaten at 17-0, including a perfect 6-0 at No. 4 singles. She won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4. Junior Izzy Asker posted a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 and junior Alex Evans was a 6-0, 6-2 winner at No. 6.
"We did pretty good but we were worried coming in," said junior Alex Evans about Oak Ridge (a 8-1 winner over McClatchy). "We kept winning all our lines and cheered on Lauiren and Emmy to complete the sweep. We are super hyped for semifinals."
Sophomore Polina Greenberg and senior Bianca Ariza paired at No. 1 for a 6-0, 6-1 win, while senior Peyton Spellacy and junior Maddie Brown posted a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 2. Lai and Goebels pulled out a three-set win at No. 3 doubles, taking the tiebreaker 12-10.
"Doubles is always important in the playoffs," said Spector. "Everyone is going to have some strong singles players. It is all about here you are going to get your five points."
St. Francis advances to semifinal action on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. at Rio del Oro. They will host the winner between No. 4 Rocklin and No. 5 Lincoln-S. SF will also be represented by doubles pairs Ariza/Sonntag and Anwar/Asker at the Section Doubles Tournament on Thursday.