There won't be many surprises -- or room for error -- when Buchanan and Clovis West meet for the Central Section Division I girls tennis championship.
The rival high schools met twice in Tri-River Athletic Conference play, with the top-seeded Bears winning 5-4 at home Sept. 22 and the second-seeded Golden Eagles 5-4 at home Oct. 8.The finale to this trilogy will be served up at 3:30 p.m. today at Buchanan."I think we are peaking at the right time," said Bears coach Jonathan Slater, whose team beat six-time defending champion Stockdale in the semifinals. "The girls are very focused."Buchanan won two of three singles matches in the first meeting; Clovis West swept in the second."It's going to be a dog fight," Clovis West coach Mark Belman said. "We're both very balanced, and we both have very competitive players."Division II: Gabrielle Gatewood leads Redwood's pursuit of a second straight title when the top-seeded Rangers host No. 2 Garces in a rematch of last year's final at 3 p.m. at Visalia's In-Shape City Racquet Club.Division III: Top-seeded Porterville seeks its first section title at 1 p.m. today when it hosts No. 2 and defending champ Tehachapi. The Panthers survived an upset bid when Alecia Gonzales and Nancy Valdez pulled out a 6-2, 0-6, 10-7 victory at No. 2 doubles to spark a 5-4 win over No. 4 Hanford West in the semis.