Central Valley’s girls tennis program received a major award during the Western Athletic Conference’s year-end head coaches’ meeting last month via a Zoom meeting.

Four Hawk standout singles players were also honored.

Nimrat Chahal, Aleena Higle, Mikalynne Tapia, Aaliyah Jauregui and Jasleen Kaur guided Central Valley to a perfect 12-0 record against league competition.

Chahal, Central Valley’s leader, was voted WAC Coach of the Year.

He praised his players and assistant coach Mike Rodriguez.

“I really don’t deserve a lot of the credit,” he said. “The girls are the ones out there competing. I try to help them as much as I can.”

“It’s definitely a team thing,” Chahal added. “Coach (Mike Rodriguez) is equally deserving of it. He handles our doubles (players) and I handle our singles (players).”

Higle and Tapia both earned first-team all-WAC honors.

Higle, a junior, compiled a 7-5 record while starting at No. 1 singles during the conference’s regular season.

“She grew a lot as the year went on,” Chahal said. 

Higle showed improvement by winning four of six matches during the second half of the regular season.

She posted a 1-1 record en route to reaching the quarterfinals of the WAC Singles Tournament.

“It’s something to build on for next year,” Chahal said. “Hopefully, she can put everything together and win it all.”

Higle contributed at No. 3 singles as a sophomore and No. 3 doubles as a freshman.

It didn’t take long for Higle to develop into Central Valley’s top player.

“She’s picked up things fast,” Chahal said. “She has good form. She has a really strong serve. Her power is what helped her to be successful. She’s getting better in all aspects of the game.”

Tapia, a senior, compiled a 6-6 record at No. 2 singles.

“I got no complaints,” Chahal said. “She competed hard. That’s all we ask.”

A three-year starter, Tapia logged playing time at No. 2 singles as a junior and No. 3 doubles as a sophomore.

“She did awesome,” Chahal said. “She worked really hard. She fell in love with the game. She turned out to be a really good player. I’m proud of her.”

Jauregui and Kaur both received second-team, all-conference recognition.

Jauregui, a junior, compiled a 9-0 record at No. 3 singles.

“She was one of the best players in the league,” Chahal said. “She deserved to be First Team. She’s really athletic. She gets to every ball. She doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. Girls get frustrated playing her.”

Kaur, a senior, compiled an 11-1 record at No. 4 singles.

“She played a lot of long matches and found a way to win them,” Chahal said. “She was a grinder.”

Kaur was a three-year contributor.

She split playing time at No. 4 and 5 singles as a junior and played doubles as a sophomore.

“Jasleen did awesome,” Chahal said. “She hit the ball hard. She had a good serve.”

Higle, Tapia, Jauregui and Kaur were rewarded for leading Central Valley to its first-ever conference title.

“All four of them were more than deserving,” Chahal said. “They worked hard. They expected to win.”