Central Valley’s girls tennis program has enjoyed its best stretch of success over the past three seasons.
The Hawks compiled a 15-2 overall record, won 13 of 14 matches while claiming their third consecutive Western Athletic Conference title and qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for the third year in a row this fall.
“Our team accomplished a lot,” Central Valley singles player Serath Birring stated.
“The girls are the reason for the success,” Hawks’ head coach Nimrat Chahal added. “Their ability to compete and fight to win is a big reason for our success, as well as the time they are willing to put in. We have built a culture of working hard, which the girls have bought into.”
Fourteenth-seeded Central Valley closed out the 2026 season with a 9-0 loss at third-seeded Oak Ridge during their Division-I playoff matchup on Nov. 2.
“We knew it would be a tough match,” Chahal said. “Oak Ridge is a perennial tennis program. They have been one of the best teams in our Section for a long time.”
“There was no pressure,” Birring added. “We had a positive mindset. We tried our hardest. They had to fight to win their points.”
The Hawks dropped six singles and three doubles matches to the heavily-favored Trojans last week.
Central Valley’s Emily Carranza lost 6-0, 6-0 to Oak Ridge’s Alexa Osen in No. 1 singles play.
Birring lost 6-0, 6-0 to Krisha Nayak in No. 2 singles play.
Valerie Espinoza lost 6-0, 6-2 to Joelle Nguyen in No. 3 singles play.
Natalia Campos lost 6-0, 6-0 to Ilayda Koker in No. 4 singles play.
Yahiza Bustos lost 6-0, 6-1 to Sophia Garcia in No. 5 singles play.
Samantha Sarabia Zavala lost 6-0, 6-0 to Sophie Tran in No. 6 singles play.
Aaralyn Jauregui and Lauren Salvatera lost 6-0, 6-1 to Sammy Vieira and Gia Steed in No. 1 doubles play.
Isabella Michelena and Karla Robles lost 6-0, 6-0 to Meher Kaur and Lauren Metcalf in No. 2 doubles play.
Victoria Jaime Dominguez and Constanza Jaime Dominguez lost 6-1, 6-1 to Sofia Wagner and Lyndon Teasdale in No. 3 doubles play.
“They’re a really tough team,” Birring said. “They have a lot of experience. Some of our girls just started playing tennis.”
“I thought our girls were hitting the ball well and we competed at our limit,” Chahal stated. “I’m very proud of how they played and their fight.”
Central Valley made the two-hour trip to El Dorado Hills last week to compete against Oak Ridge.
The Hawks weren’t awarded a first-round home playoff match despite finishing first in conference play.
The Trojans (19-7-1, 11-4) placed third in the Sierra Foothill League.
Oak Ridge had a tougher strength of schedule during the regular season.
“I am not surprised that we had to travel for our playoff match,” Chahal said. “Division 1 is loaded with great teams, especially as you travel up North.”
“Having a home game would have been nice,” Birring added.
Central Valley extended its streak of consecutive winning seasons to three in 2026.
The Hawks managed to make more history despite competing with a new-look roster as 10 players from last year’s team were lost to graduation, including seven starters.
“We played our hearts out the entire season,” Birring said. “We knew if we wanted to win league and make playoffs again, we had to work really hard. And we did that.”
Central Valley has experienced a major turnaround since moving from the Central California Conference to the Western Athletic Conference as part of the Section’s league realignment plan in 2024.
The Hawks amassed a 46-5 overall record from 2024-26.
Central Valley had a .975 winning percentage (39-1) versus WAC opponents.
The Hawks have won 17 of their last 18 matches against the crosstown-rival Ceres High Bulldogs dating back to the 2014 season.
“This is something that doesn’t happen often,” Chahal said while talking about Central Valley’s run of success the past three seasons. “It’s surreal to think about.”
The 2026 Hawks will lose seven players to graduation, including Carranza, Espinoza, Sarabia Zavala, Campos, Jauregui, Michelena and Evelyn Valenzuela.
“Hopefully, we’re building something that is sustainable,” Chahal said. “We want to continue being good. We’re going to play hard and have fun.”