ROSEVILLE, Calif. – St. Francis junior Maria McDougall and sophomore Sandra Wallace each won two matches on the first day of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I girls' singles tournament at Johnson Ranch Sports Club on Thursday, thus moving on to Friday's semifinal round.
McDougall, last year's runner-up at this very event, defeated both of her first-round and quarterfinal opponents in straight sets. She scored a "double bagel" victory over Saint Mary's sophomore Myla Barawed, then held on to a 6-0, 6-4 triumph over Folsom's Jayden Hill in the second round.
Wallace defeated Tracy's Oviya Jayaprakash, 6-2, 6-3, in her opener; then split sets against former Delta League foe Evangeline Ho. Wallace breezed through the opener, 6-2, then Ho stormed back with a 6-3 second set. Wallace then regrouped to post a 10-7 win in the one-game tiebreaker.
The two Troubadours represent the Sierra Foothill League, as did Folsom's Hill. Both SF players now face the top two seeds in the tournament. McDougall, who entered as the No. 3 seed in the event, goes up against Tracy's Nayomi Shih, who breezed through McClatchy's Darcy Altare and Woodcreek's Maddie Yu by identical 6-0, 6-1 decisions.
Wallace was unofficially the tourney's No. 5 seed, and her mild upset against No. 4 Ho moved her into a Friday showdown with No. 1 Lyla van Loben Sels of McClatchy. van Loben Sels double-bageled both of her opponents on Thursday: Christian Brothers' Lillian Steenhausen in the first round followed by West Park's Chrissy McPhee in the quarters.
The SJS Division I and II singles and doubles championships conclude at Johnson Ranch on Friday. The SFL is also well-repped in the doubles draw with the Del Oro duo of Ashley Rowland and Avery Phillips and the Davis tandem of Lea Lamoureux and Ana Palmbaum each making the final four.
Action begins at 10 a.m. at Johnson Ranch on Friday. Live results are available through UTR Sports (app.utrsports.net), with a free membership required to view the draws.
