Dale Eckenberg, Rocklin Tennis Coach/Section Tournament Director
This fall, Dale Eckenberg has served as a tennis correspondent for SureWest Sports, and this week Eckenberg provides his breakdown of the Division I and Division II girls tennis playoffs set to begin this week.
DIVISION I
Favorites:
Granite Bay – Looking for their 6th straight section title and 14th trip to the finals in a row. After moving up to DI, the Grizzlies will see some tough competition.
St. Francis – After a slow start and a new coach the Troubadours will seek there 7th straight section title. Looking ahead in the brackets, a semi-final match-up at Granite Bay could be a great tennis match
Contenders:
Davis – Ines Guinard looks to lead Davis back to the championship. Davis is deep and should put up a fight in the bottom half of the bracket.
Rocklin-Reached the semi-finals in DII last year, one of the deepest teams in the section and will need it to compete against the top teams.
Oak Ridge- Great team led by Tori Trylovich. Very deep that looks to get through to the Semi-Finals in a match up against Rocklin/Davis.
Watch-out:
St. Mary’s-Can never count out the finalist from last year, but they are a bit down from last years stacked team.
Del Oro- The never say die Eagles will give Davis a tough match in the second round and could pull the upset with a ball control style.
DIVISION II
Favorites:
Bella Vista-The deepest team in DII, the Broncos will look for their 1st section title in tennis. Led by Rachel Putty and the Derry twins, Bella Vista is a quality program and should go deep in the playoffs.
Rio Americano- Freshman Sydney Komlenic leads Rio into the playoffs. The Raiders have reloaded and seek a return to the section finals. Looking for their 3rd section title and first since 1999, Rio Americano has their sites on Bella Vista.
Contenders:
McClatchy: Great depth for the Lions as they have faced adversity through the season. As a dominate METRO champion McClatchy has had to go outside the league to face tough competition.
Vanden: Always a tough team with Stan Lewis running the ship. Emily Lewis will help lead her team in a tough match-up versus Mira Loma in the second round and McClatchy after that.
Los Banos: A tough team with athletes that know how to win. Alexis Barcellos returns to lead Los Banos in the bottom half of the bracket and should move deep into the tournament.
Watch out:
Mira Loma; Boys coach Paul Thompson took over late and has the girls playing well. With Olga Yulayoua leading the group, the girls will compete with anyone.