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Turlock, Pitman tennis squads impress to advance to quarterfinals
Turlock tennis 1
Being one of the first players to take the courts on Monday evening, Chloe Barrett (pictured) and her doubles partner Kali Barindelli set the tone early for the Bulldogs' playoff victory over Franklin (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

Both the Bulldogs of Turlock High and the Pride of Pitman High tennis teams won their opening round playoff matches on Monday evening to advance to the quarterfinals of their respective CIF Sac-Joaquin Section brackets. And not only did the two local teams walk away victorious within hours of each other, but they each won with identical 7-2 scores.

The first ones to wrap up on Monday were the No. 8 ranked Bulldogs, who took on the No. 9 ranked Wildcats of Franklin High (Elk Grove) in the Division I bracket. In just under two and a half hours, the Bulldogs wrapped up a 7-2 victory on their home courts.

In singles matches, Turlock’s Lindsey Huh, Sophia Butland, Victoria Christopher, Brynn Cardoza and Kennedi Amaya all won their matches in only two sets. Huh defeated her opponent 6-3, 6-2; Butland by a score of 6-1, 6-2; Christopher by 6-2, 6-3 and Cardoza via set wins of 6-1 and 6-3. A score for Amaya’s victory was not submitted.

Success was also plentiful for the Bulldogs in two of their three doubles matches as the duo of Nina Hoobyar and Sienna Butland won their match 6-2, 6-0; while the team of Kali Barindelli and Chloe Barrett secured a 6-0, 6-4 victory.

With the win, the Bulldogs will now turn their attention to the No. 1 ranked Division I team in the bracket, the Trojans of Oak Ridge High. The Bulldogs will travel to El Dorado Hills on Wednesday for the semifinal matchup.

Meanwhile, No. 9 ranked Pitman began their playoff run Monday in Lodi to take the No. 8 ranked Flames. Just an hour after the Bulldogs finished up in Turlock, the Pride secured their own victory to advance in the Section’s Division II bracket.

Pitman tennis
Pitman High's Vanessa Hulbert was one of four Pride players to secure victories in singles matches in Monday's playoff victory over Lodi (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

In singles play, Alice Stessman, Vanessa Hulbert, Pavit Saini and Gianna Barkhoy won their matches. Stessman won in three sets (6-2, 2-6, 6-3), Hulbert won in two (7-6 (4), 6-4), Saini won in two (6-1, 6-2) and Barkhoy also won in two (7-6 (5), 6-4).

Over in doubles, the Pride won all three of their matches. The wins came from the duos of Simar Kaur and Jasmeet Manesh, Samantha Robinson and Hailey Beltran, and Parm Kaur and Navaeh Montoya. Simar Kaur and Manesh won by scores of 6-3 and 6-4 and Robinson and Beltran won with 6-2 and 7-5 sets. Parm Kaur and Montoya secured their victory in a tiebreaking seven exchanges after splitting their sets with scores of 3-6 and 6-3.

Like the Bulldogs, the Pride will also do some travelling on Wednesday to take on the No.1 team in their bracket, Woodcreek High of Roseville.

Both matches for the Pride and the Bulldogs on Wednesday are expected to start at around 3 p.m.