ELK GROVE, Calif. – Each of St. Francis' two doubles tandems were eliminated in the first round of the Delta League doubles championships, held at Laguna Creek Sports Club Wednesday.

Sophomore Ava Ensberg and freshman Sarah Ramos-Lasso fell to Franklin's No. 2 pairing of Alisha Bajan and Abreesh Kaeley in split sets, winning the opener by a 6-3, then losing the second set by a similar 6-3 final. Ensberg and Ramos-Lasso then went to the single game tiebreaker, rallied from an early hole to take an 8-7 lead, but surrendered three unanswered points to lose, 10-8.

The Bajan/Kaeley team played No. 1 doubles in the dual match against SF earlier in the season, but became the No. 2 entry when the Wildcats entered two of its top singles players, Irina Salvador and Ella Do, as its No. 1 doubles squad.

Meanwhile, senior captain Caroline Niethammer teamed with junior Tatum Walbeck against one of the draw's top seeds, Davis' Hannah Proctor and Maya Moeller. The Blue Devil duo won that match in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. All four players in that match typically played singles during the regular season. Walbeck and Niethammer usually occupied the No. 3 or No. 4 singles slot, while Proctor and Moeller were Nos. 1 and 3 singles in their previous matchups with the Troubies.

The top four doubles teams in the tourney earn All-Delta League honors, with the top three earning trips to the Sac-Joaquin Section individual championships on Nov. 2-3 at Johnson Ranch. Freshman Maria McDougall will be the lone SF entrant to that event, thanks to her third-place finish in the league singles championship.

St. Francis will now await its seeding and opponent in the SJS team tournament, which begins on Monday. The first three rounds take place at home sites, with the section finals scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 8 at Pacific.