SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The top-seeded St. Francis tennis team advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section championship match for the third consecutive season, posting a 7-2 win over Oak Ridge Tuesday at Rio del Oro Racquet Club.
"We went out against a good team and played our game like we have in practice," said junior Bianca Ariza.
The Troubadours are looking to win their second straight section title after defeating Del Oro last season for their first since 2011. SF lost to Oak Ridge in the 2016 finals.
The Troubies won five of six singles matches and two of three doubles matches to reach the final. Sophomore Alisha Anwar won 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2, while junior Adithi Benush won a three-set match at No. 3. Sophomores Izzy Asker and Alex Evans were straight set wins at. 4 and 5, respectively. Freshamn Safaa Umar posted a convinving win at No. 6 with a 6-0, 6-1 win.
Delta League doubles champions Samantha Sonntag and Bianca Ariza were 6-1, 6-1 winners at No. 1 amd junior Peyton Spellacy and senior Roya Pahlavan paired for a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 2.
The Troubies are now 21-1 on the season and own a 17-match winning streak.
St. Francis will face No. 2 seed Rocklin in the final at 3 p.m. at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club. The Thunder defeated Davis 7-2 on Tuesday.