Thunder and Timberwolves progress to Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals

The Rocklin Thunder and Woodcreek Timberwolves girls' tennis teams are both top seeds in their respective divisions and won their quarterfinal playoff matches on Wednesday to advance to the semifinal round. Rocklin High, who won the Sierra Foothill League title, took down River City High 8-1 in the quarterfinal round after having a first round bye. The top singles' player for the Thunder, senior Roxana Shahi, lost her first set 4-6 but stormed back winning the following two sets 6-3 and 6-1. Shahi is also in the finals of the Sierra Foothill League Singles Championships. Senior Maiah White, juniors Erin Johnson and Lia Savage, along with sophomore Nica Sobrepena, all won their matches in two sets. "This group is young and hungry to improve," coach Dale Eckenburg said. "Every practice and match, we are seeing growth. The explosion to the ball and the pace of the vollies are really adding to our team." The doubles' teams of juniors Kennedy Weir and Audrey Watkins, sophomores Anika Madan and Sophia Burns, and sophomores Miya Walker and Maya Camber also won their matches on Wednesday. The Thunder will play the winner of Lincoln High School of Stockton and Gregori High this upcoming Monday. Woodcreek High The Lady Timberwolves won the Capital Valley Conference and were given a first round bye as the top seed in Division II. On Wednesday, Woodcreek won their quarterfinal matchup 8-1 against Tracy. In the league Singles and Doubles tournaments last week, the doubles team of juniors Lexi Schroeder and Tyler Walter made it to the finals before losing to Bella Vista. They will still represent the Capital Valley Conference at sections, along with senior Miyah Yu and sophomore Mikah Yu, who played each other in the Super Singles league finals with Miyah coming out on top. "Advancing to sections means a lot because I have someone to experience this with who I've known quite literally my whole life," Mikah Yu said. "Since this is her last year, I'm very grateful we get to advance together." Woodcreek will play Rio Americano High in the Division II semifinals on Monday. "What makes this team so special is they really take being a family to heart and are always there for each other and push each other to get better," coach Ken Jacobs said. "Winning the section would be an awesome accomplishment and a great reward for all the work the girls have put into building a competitive tennis program." Granite Bay High The Grizzlies narrowly lost 5-4 in their Division I quarterfinal match against Oak Ridge High on Wednesday. Granite Bay was an 11-seed and won 6-3 over St. Francis in the first round. Their top singles player, freshman Lila Bromfield, won her first two matches in the Sierra Foothill League Singles Championships and is set to play Roxana Shahi of Rocklin. The doubles pairing of seniors Ava Rafanan and Bianca Welch went 9-1 on the season and emerged victorious in the league doubles' championships last week. Rafanan, Welch and Bromfield all advance to the section tournament. Granite Bay finished the season 6-8 and placed fourth in the Sierra Foothill League. Oakmont High The Lady Vikings lost 6-3 to Cosumnes Oaks High in the Division II quarterfinals on Wednesday, following an opening round victory over Rodriguez High. Oakmont was a six-seed in the section playoffs and were the co-Foothill Valley League champions with the Placer Hillmen finishing the regular season with a 14-1 record. They played in the league singles and doubles tournaments last week and the doubles pairing of junior Jordan Cheng and senior Olivia Guzman made it all the way to the finals before losing to Placer. Cheng and Guzman advanced to the section tournament. Roseville High The Tigers 2021 season came to an end on Monday in a 7-2 loss against Rio Americano High. Roseville entered the Division II playoffs as a 13-seed after finishing third in the Capital Valley Conference with a 7-4 record. Freshman Evana Sharma won her match 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. West Park High The Panthers ended their season last week in the Foothill Valley League singles and doubles tournaments on Oct. 26 and Oct. 28, respectively. West Park went 4-12 on the season with all four wins coming in league play against Lincoln, Nevada Union and Rio Linda. "The area that I saw the most improvement was in our mental approach to the game," coach Jonathan Owens said. "We worked on playing tiebreakers and games to help our girls to gain confidence so when they did have those situations in a match, they were ready for them." Sophomores Kathryn Spencer and Simran Gill, along with freshman Isabelle Rabas, all won their respective matches in their final league match of the season against Lincoln on Oct. 19.