Sienna Swain served it up and watched the return sail wide to wrap up a wildly successful four-day stretch for the Buchanan High girls tennis program.
Swain’s serve led to the championship-clinching point, giving top-seeded Buchanan High a 5-0 lead in singles en route to a 6-3 victory over No. 2 Stockdale for the school’s second straight Central Section Division I girls tennis title on Tuesday.
It’s the fifth section title for Buchanan (21-2), which will advance to the CIF Southern California Regional and host a first-round match Nov. 17 against a school to be determined.
Had Swain, who trailed 5-4 in the second set before rallying for a 6-1, 7-5 win over Anna Ashford, not won at No. 4 singles, the pressure would have been on in doubles.
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I wanted to do it for our team, to get it done after singles.
Buchanan girls tennis player Sienna Swain, who produced the championship-winning point with her win at No. 4 singles
“I wanted to do it for our team, to get it done after singles,” said Swain, also a Bee All-Star in softball. “I got a little frustrated in the middle (of the second set), but I had to come through for my team, so I dug deep.”
Buchanan’s near singles sweep also featured wins from the players who produced the doubles champion (Lasya Gudipudi and Lauren Lee) and singles runner-up (Sravya Gudipudi) at the section individual tournament Saturday. Grace Moore, at No. 5, also won as the Bears built a 5-1 lead through singles.
Lasya Gudipudi was the first to finish, beating Emily Horrigan 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2. Moore knocked off Angela Tun 6-1, 6-4, and was followed by Sravya Gudipudi, who rallied for a 2-6, 6-0 (10-2) win over Arianna Tilbury at No. 1.
“I needed to get used to the weather and wind,” said Sravya Gudipudi, who after making the section individual final for the first time fell 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 Saturday to Clovis West’s Janie Ellis. “Especially after (individual) singles, this is great. It makes it more fun.”
21-2 Buchanan’s season record, which does not include a loss to Central Section opposition
Lee, like Sravya Gudipudi and Swain, a four-year varsity player, put the Bears on the verge of the title with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Erica Paradise at No. 3. That trio helped Buchanan win three section titles and finish runner-up once during their careers.
“We practiced super hard for this,” said Lee, who teamed with Lasya Gudipudi to defeat Stockdale’s Horrigan and Paradise 6-2, 6-2 in the individual doubles final Saturday. “Our goal was to win every match and get to Valley. Now that we’ve won, it’s so awesome.”
With the match decided, the schools elected to play eight-game pro-sets in doubles, with Buchanan’s Maddie Frazier and Amber Simonson winning 8-7 (9-7) at No. 3 to end the match.
We came close, about as close as you can come.
Buchanan girls tennis coach Jonathan Slater on his team’s near sweep of the Central Section individual singles (second) and doubles (first), as well as Division I team (first) titles.
“We set the goal at the beginning of the season to do what we believe what has never been done, to win in singles, win in doubles and win the team,” said Bears coach Jonathan Slater, whose team did not lose to section opposition this season. “We came close, about as close as you can come.”
Nick Giannandrea: 559-441-6103, @NickG_FB
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