The members of Central Valley’s and Ceres High’s girls tennis programs gained valuable experience while battling conference opponents this past week.

Central Valley’s youth-laden team dropped to 2-8 in Central California Conference play following Thursday’s 8-1 loss to El Capitan in Ceres.

“It was a pretty competitive,” Hawks’ head coach Nimrat Chahal said. “We lost some close matches.”

Central Valley’s Aleena Higle prevented the shutout as she prevailed 6-1, 6-1 in No. 3 singles play.

“It’s a good win for her,” said Chahal. “She’s starting to play smarter. She has a complete game. She just likes playing tennis.”

Higle avenged a three-set loss.

“This time, she dominated. She figured out how to play against that girl. She slowed it down.”

Lliria Lira lost 6-2, 6-2 in No. 1 singles play.

Mikalynne Tapia lost 6-0, 6-2 in No. 2 singles play.

Jasleen Kaur lost 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 in No. 4 singles play.

Kaur filled in for Aliyah Jauregui, who missed her second straight match with a wrist injury sustained during club soccer.

“That’s the best I’ve seen Jasleen play. That’s a good sign.”

Valerie Espinoza lost 6-3, 6-0 in No. 5 singles play.

Harkirian Sandhu lost 6-2, 7-5 in No. 6 singles play.

Melanie Chavez and Valeria Sanchez lost 6-1, 6-2 in No. 1 doubles play.

Agam Sandhu and Roxana Orozco lost 6-3, 6-1 in No. 2 doubles play.

Victoria Guajardo and Sarinah Badillo lost in No. 3 doubles play.

Buhach Colony edged shorthanded Central Valley 5-4 on Oct. 3 in Atwater.

The Thunder exacted revenge for a 6-3 loss.

“We should have won. We didn’t. Credit to them.”

The Hawks won all three doubles and one of six singles matches versus the Thunder.

Chavez and Elia Hernandez prevailed 6-2, 6-3 in No. 1 doubles play.

Sanchez and Ilyana Vidal prevailed 6-3, 6-3 in No. 2 doubles play.

Orozco and Agam Sandhu prevailed 6-2, 6-4 in No. 3 doubles play. 

“The doubles are the strength of our team. The majority of the time, they’re solid. Our singles players are new. They’re still learning.”

Harkirian Sandhu prevailed 6-1, 6-1 in No. 6 singles play.

“She’s done a good job all year,” said Chahal. “She’s improved a lot. She’s a competitor. She wants to win.”

Lira lost 7-5, 7-5 in No. 1 singles play.

Tapia lost 6-2, 6-1 in No. 2 singles play.

Higle lost 6-1, 7-6 in No. 3 singles play.

Kaur lost 6-0, 7-5 in No. 4 singles play.

Espinoza lost 6-1, 6-3 in No. 5 singles play.

Central Valley continues to show improvement.

The Hawks will lose just one player to graduation.

“We’re young. We’re really focused on trying to teach the girls to be more competitive. They’re playing hard. They’re learning. They’re showing levels of dedication. We have a strong foundation built.”

Ceres High improved to 2-8 in the Western Athletic Conference standings after defeating winless Grace Davis 6-3 on Oct. 4 in Modesto.

Gurleen Kaur won 6-2, 6-7, 7-3 in No. 1 singles play.

Diana Sanchez won 6-3, 6-2 in No. 2 singles play.

Camila Orellana won 6-1, 6-2 in No. 4 singles play.

Nerisha Singh won 6-3, 6-1 in No. 6 singles play.

Izabella Jacquez and Michelle Martinez won 6-2, 4-6, 7-3 in No. 1 doubles play.

Alyson Brumbaugh and Serena Chalk won 4-6, 6-4, 11-9 in No. 2 doubles play.

The Bulldogs earned a season sweep versus the Spartans.

Ceres High topped visiting Grace Davis 6-3 on Sept. 11.