The Cupertino Courier
Sports
Matadors roll to CCS, NorCal tennis champs
By MIKE BARNHART
Three days after reclaiming the Central Coast Section championship from Menlo, Monta Vista's girls tennis team won the Northern California title for the fourth year in a row. Monta Vista finished the season with a 26-2 record.
The Matadors captured both events with 5-2 wins over Menlo, and put together each victory the same way. They split the four singles contests and swept the three doubles matches.
Senior Vidya Dabir, who retired from her No. 1 singles contest at CCS while leading Menlo's Sarah Hoffman 3-2 in the first set, had a tough time in the NorCal finale. She lost to Hoffman, 6-1, 6-0.
Meanwhile, sophomore Sophie Chang and senior Taskeen Bains picked up the singles slack, winning in straight sets in both matches. Chang beat Menlo's Jennifer Goldman at No. 2, while Bains took care of Gaby Filipcik at No. 3. Matador senior Jennifer Chui lost tough three-set matches to Menlo's Emily Shine at No. 4 singles.
In doubles, the Matadors' top tandems--juniors Courtney Chin and Tiffany Nguyen at No. 1, and freshman Melissa Kobayakawa and junior Chau Nguyen at No. 2--topped their Menlo opponents in straight sets. At third doubles, freshmen Annalisa Choy and Tara Nguyen the first set, 6-1, in the NorCal contest, but recovered to win 6-2 and 6-4.
As usual, the top two teams in the CCS also proved to be the best in the 10-team Northern California event. Monta Vista, the No. 1 seed, scored 7-0 victories over Pleasant Valley of Chico and Monte Vista of Danville, before hooking up with Menlo again. The Knights had beaten Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills, 7-0, and Foothill of Pleasanton, 6-1.
Monta Vista coach Gene Fortino changed the line-up a bit at the regional affair. Chang won in straight sets at No. 1 singles against both Pleasant Valley and Monte Vista, and two different combinations played No. 1 doubles without dropping a set. C. Nguyen and Kobayakawa filled in against Pleasant Valley, and Dabir and Chui teamed up against Monte Vista.
Other members of Fortino's Matadors this season were Stephanie Wu, Mindy Chu, Cassie Ding, Kortney Eng, Iliana Nguyen and Melody Wang.
