Giants fall in second round of NorCal Regionals; Three remain alive in individual tournament
By Nick Giannandrea
One of the more successful team seasons in College of the Sequoias women's tennis history has come to its conclusion.
But for three Giants' individual players, the season continues.
Second-seeded Sequoias was eliminated from the team playoffs with a 5-2 home loss against No. 3 Canada on April 12 during the second round of the Northern California Regionals.
"It's been a great season," first-year Giants coach Chad Borkey said. "They competed well."
Sequoias received wins from its No. 2 doubles team of Sahara Hannon (Mt. Whitney High) and Lilliania Silveira (Tulare Western), and No. 4 singles player Silveira. No. 1 Elizabeth Gormley (Redwood) and No. 6 Curtlynn Wendt (Exeter) were still playing in singles when the team match was stopped after Canada got its clinching fifth win.
The Giants finished the team season 15-2 overall, their only other loss coming against Modesto (5-4) on Feb. 25. They opened the NorCal Regionals with a 6-3 victory over No. 7 West Valley on April 5, getting wins from the doubles teams of Gormley/Maddy Adams (Redwood) and Estrada/Wendt, and in singles from Gormley, Silveira, Estrada and Wendt.
Borkey now turns his attention toward preparing Gormley, Isabella Estrada (Mt. Whitney) and Silveira for the Northern California Regional individual championship tournament, scheduled for April 29-30 at West Valley College in Saratoga.
Gormley, Estrada and Silveira all qualified as singles players, while Gormley and Estrada made it as a doubles team after their performances during the Big 8 South Conference tournament.
The top-seeded Gormley was the singles champion, defeating Solano's No. 2 Katelyn Crismon in the final.
Gormley came to Sequoias after concluding a decorated high school career highlighted by a berth in the Central Section's final eight individual singles players in 2021.
"She decided to stay local and that was a tremendous blessing," Borkey said. "She's taken on every challenge and been tremendous. She's never too high or too low, she just battles every match."
Silveira earned her spot in the NorCal Regionals by reaching the quarterfinals of the Big 8 South Conference tournament, while Estrada rallied from an early loss to win the consolation bracket to gain her berth into the regionals.
The second-seeded Gormley and Estrada upset No. 1 Brunia Boliscar and Sarah White of Modesto in the doubles final and rallied past Modesto's third-seeded Kendra Branch and Tayla Barry in the semifinals.
If any of the Giants' players advance, the Individual State Championship tournament is scheduled for May 6-7 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.
Looking ahead, all eight players on the Giants' roster -- which also includes Sadie Avila (Hanford) and Zoe Figueroa (Mission Oak) -- are freshmen and eligible to return next season.
"I knew we would be very talented, but wasn't sure we'd be quite this good," Borkey said. "They meshed well and just continued to get better and compete. They listen and are very coachable. And, they like each other and play for each other. They did a tremendous job this season. I'm really proud of them."
