ELK GROVE, Calif. — St. Francis High senior Safaa Umar won a pair of matches in straight sets before falling, 6-1, 6-3, to top-seeded Aileena Hu of Franklin in the title match of the Delta League Singles Championship, hosted at Laguna Valley Sports Club on Wednesday.

Umar now moves on to the Sac-Joaquin Section individual championship, held at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club on November 4-5. 

As the second seed in the draw, Umar earned a first-round bye into the quarterfinals, where she dispatched Troubadour teammate Norah Zhou with a straight-set, 6-0, 6-0 victory. Umar then went on to defeat Pleasant Grove's Hiya Lohia, 7-5, 6-4, in the semifinal round.

Zhou beat Ellie Chang of Davis High, 6-3, 6-4, before her loss to Umar. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the bracket, Troubie junior Aniyus Pierre had the only split-set match of the day, besting Elk Grove's Selam Mehreleab, 6-2, 4-6 with a 12-10 tiebreaker in her first-round battle. Pierre then fell by scores of 6-2, 6-0 to Hu in the quarters.

The Delta League singles tourney was originally scheduled for Monday, but was pushed back two days due to inclement weather. In turn, the Delta League doubles championship moved from Wednesday to Friday. 

2021 DELTA LEAGUE SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP
Laguna Valley Sports Club (Elk Grove, Calif.)
St. Francis HS results only

FIRST ROUND
Aniyus Pierre (SF) def. Selam Mehreleab (Elk Grove), 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (12-10)
Norah Zhou (SF) def. Ellie Chang (Davis, Calif.), 6-3, 6-4

QUARTERFINAL
Safaa Umar (SF) def. Norah Zhou (SF), 6-0, 6-0
Aileena Hu (Franklin) def. Aniyus Pierre (SF), 6-2, 6-0

SEMIFINAL
Safaa Umar (SF) def. Hiya Lohia (Pleasant Grove), 7-5, 6-4

FINAL
Aileena Hu (Franklin) vs. Safaa Umar (SF), 6-1, 6-3