Tennis Advances to Fourth Straight Section Final

Tennis Advances to Fourth Straight Section Final

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior Alisha Anwar recorded a come-from-behind three-set win at No. 2 singles to push the top-ranked Troubadour tennis team to a 8-1 victory over No. 4 Rocklin.

"We feel amazing," said Head Coach Kristi Spector. "We knew going in it would be a tough match and there would be shift in the lineup. Our girls had our work cut out for them and I am super proud with how we played."

Anwar, who had never defeated Maiah White at No. 2 dating back to youth tennis, had the highlight win in singles. After falling behind one set (6-2), she battled back to take the second set 7-5 and win a 10-point tiebreak.

"Going into the match I was really nervous and had no expectations," said Anwar. "In the second set, I told myself I was going to do this match for myself and try my best."

SF (20-1) also got wins from senior Sam Sonntag at No. 3 (6-3, 6-0), sophomore Safaa Umar at No. 4, junior Izzy Asker at No. 5 and junior Alex Evans at No. 6.

The Troubies also swept the three doubles matches with freshman Polina Greenberg and senior Bianca Ariza pairing at No. 2 for a 6-2, 7-5 win over Erin and Anna Johnson of Rocklin.

Senior Peyton Spellacy and junior Maddie Brown won at No. 2 and sophomore Lauren Lai and junior Emmy Goebels posted a win at No. 3.

They will face No. 2 Granite Bay in the finals on Thursday at 3 p.m. at Broadstone Racquet Club against No. 2 Granite Bay. The Grizzlies were 9-0 winners over No. 6 Davis.

"I am so excited," said Anwar of the NorCal berth. "We have so many goals this year. We have just marked off each one and now we have NorCals."

It is the fourth consecutive finals berth for the program. They will be seeking their first title since 2017. The finals berth also qualifies the team for the CIF Northern California Regionals for the fourth consecutive season.