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For the first time in three years, Monta Vista did not win the Central Coast Section girls team tennis championship. But for the third straight year, it proved to be the best team in Northern California.
After bowing 4-3 to Menlo in the CCS finals on Nov. 16 at the Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos, the Matadors turned the tables on the Knights and captured the CIF-USTA Northern California tournament last weekend.
Monta Vista's 6-1 triumph over Menlo at the Fremont Tennis Center marked the third straight year that the NorCal event ended with the same result. Monta Vista finished the season with a 26-4 record, and Menlo closed at 28-6.
Earlier in the week, Menlo avenged its CCS championship round losses of the previous two years. Monta Vista won 4-3 in 2003 and 7-0 last fall. Prior to Monta Vista's back-to-back titles, Menlo captured six CCS crowns in a row (1997-2002).
In the 10-team NorCal event, Nov. 18-19, coach Gene Fortino's Matadors and the Knights squared off again, after easily beating a pair of challengers. Monta Vista defeated Loretto of Sacramento in Friday's quarterfinals, while Menlo handled Sutter Union of Chico. In Saturday's semifinal round, the Matadors dumped Lowell of San Francisco while the Knights whipped Monte Vista of Danville. All of the matches were 7-0.
Unlike the CCS finale, when the two teams split the four singles matches, Monta Vista won all of them on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Vidya Dabir beat Sarah Hoffman at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-4, in a reversal of their contest earlier in the week. As she did in the CCS match, freshman Sophie Chang won at No. 2 in straight sets over Marjorie Adams. Junior Jennifer Chui rebounded from her CCS defeat to win at No. 3 over Jennifer Goldman, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Taskeen Bains won a three-set battle at No. 4 with Menlo's Gaby Filipcik, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2).
Monta Vista's top doubles team, sophomores Chau Nguyen and Courtney Chin, beat Menlo's top unit, repeating its CCS accomplishment. On Saturday, Nguyen and Chin won 6-1, 6-3. Sophomore Tiffany Nguyen and junior Stephanie Wu were winners at No. 3 doubles, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
Monta Vista's other team members were seniors Gungeet Bains, Chen-Chen Jiang, Gloria Lin, Sabrina Macek and An Nguyen, junior Cassie Ding, sophomore Tiffany Nguyen and freshmen Iliana Nguyen and Toni Bartels.
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