Conference rivals for the past 12 seasons, Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s varsity girls golf programs will compete in different leagues beginning this fall.

The Bulldogs and Hawks opened their respective 2018 campaigns last week.

Ceres High topped host Lathrop, 328-349, in Western Athletic Conference play on the front-nine course at Old River on Thursday in Tracy.

“It feels great starting the season off with a win,” said Alex Potts, a third-year player with the Bulldogs. “It’s really good for our team’s confidence.”

Ariana Medina paced the Bulldogs with a 22-over-par 58.

Potts, Vanessa Ramos, Benia Torres and Isabel Campos rounded out Ceres High’s scorecard with rounds of 61, 63, 65 and 81, respectively.

Spartan Abigail Bautista led all golfers with a 56.

“It’s our first match of the season,” Potts said. “We’ve only had a couple practices. Whether we won or lost, I was going to be okay with it.”

Host Central Valley lost by 22 strokes, 229-251, to Buhach Colony in CCC play on Thursday at St. Stanislaus Golf Course.

Esmeralda Lopez fired a 40 to lead the Hawks.

Central Valley teammates Amelia Daoheung, Katherine Nou, Olivia Pulido and Fernanda Mercado chipped in with scores of 42, 52, 55 and 62, respectively.

GIRLS TENNIS

Central Valley’s varsity girls tennis team secured a split while competing against two of the top programs in the Stanislaus District this past week.

Central Valley beat Western Athletic Conference-rival Los Banos for the first time in program history.

The Hawks rolled to an 8-1 road victory over the Tigers on Thursday.

Lupe Becerra won 6-4, 6-2, at No. 1 singles.

Suinana Dhillon won 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3 singles.

Mixtly Vega won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4 singles.

Elisabeth Valdez won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 5 singles.

Bandna Bhatti won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.

Daniela Yepez and Virginia Moore won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles.

Christina Hermenegildo and Lizbeth Martinez Camacho won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles.

Sabina Dhillon and Priscilla Sanchez won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 doubles.

Central Valley lost 8-1 to Manteca in non-league play on Wednesday in Ceres.

Yepez and Moore prevented the shutout.

Daniela and Virginia won 7-6 (11-9), 6-4 at No. 1 doubles.

Hermenegildo and Martinez Camacho lost 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles.

Sanchez and Sabina Dhillon lost 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 12-10 at No. 3 doubles.

Becerra lost 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles.

Arce lost 6-0, 6-3 at No. 2 singles.

Suinana Dhillon lost 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.

Vega lost 6-0, 6-1 at No. 4 singles.

Valdez lost 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 singles.

Bhatti lost 6-4, 6-2 at No. 6 singles.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Central Valley’s varsity girls volleyball team played three non-conference matches in a four-day span this past week.

The Hawks rallied for a 3-1 (20-25, 25-11, 25-16, 25-22) win over host Johansen on Aug. 23 in Modesto.

Nayeli Ramos, Brianna Quiroz, Kaydee Peterman and Anysia Lopez combined for 24 kills. “The girls were competing with each other for kills,” head coach Regina Selfridge said. 

Ramos had eight kills.

Quiroz had six kills and four aces.

Peterman had five kills and five digs.

Lopez had five kills.

Central Valley lost 3-0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-5) at Ripon on Aug. 21.

“We failed to block,” Selfridge said.

The Hawks swept the Grace Davis Spartans 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-23) during their CIF Foundation matchup on Aug. 20 in Ceres.

“They were awesome,” Selfridge said.

Quiroz had eight kills and five digs.

Anusha Kumar had four digs and two kills.

Ramos and Lopez both had four kills.

YOUTH FOOTBALL

The Ceres Jr. Bulldogs’ varsity youth football team dropped its season-opening game this past weekend.

The Jr. Bulldogs lost 32-12 to the Merced Jr. Gauchos in Central Valley Gridiron League play on Saturday at Golden Valley High School.

“This is our first game,” head coach Joe Estrada said. “It’s a long season. We’ll bounce back from this. We’ll win some games. We got good talent.”

Rueben Garcia and Isaac Andrade accounted for the Jr. Bulldogs’ touchdowns.

Ceres trailed 12-6 at the break.

Garcia scampered 25 yards for a TD in the second quarter.

“We looked good in the beginning,” Estrada said. “It was a dogfight.”

The Jr. Gauchos outscored the Jr. Bulldogs 20-6 during the second half.

Andrade had a 2-yard rushing TD in the third quarter.

“We were moving the ball,” Estrada said. “Minor mistakes hurt us.”

Competing on hot FieldTurf also proved problematic for the Jr. Bulldogs.

“Our kids got burnt out after halftime,” Estrada said. “You could feel the heat off the turf. That took a toll.”