Girls tennis upsets Cupertino as volleyball ends playoff run

Hilari+Fan+%2811%29+practices+with+the+team+at+the+Blackford+tennis+courts.+The+girls+next+play+against+Menlo-Atherton+in+the+quarterfinals+of+the+CCS+tournament+on+Thursday.+

Aditya Singhvi

Hilari Fan (11) practices with the team at the Blackford tennis courts. The girls next play against Menlo-Atherton in the quarterfinals of the CCS tournament on Thursday.

by Aditya Singhvi, Aquila Co-Sports Editor

Girls Tennis

The girls’ tennis team upset the Cupertino High Pioneers in the second round of the Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs, winning the crucial matchup 4-3 today afternoon at Cupertino.

The third-seeded Pioneers team were the favorites coming into the match against the unseeded Eagles.

“We were definitely the underdogs coming into today’s match, but we made sure to not let it get in our heads and played our best game without worrying about the result. A lot of us are still in shock about our victory, but in the end, we are just very thankful that our hard work throughout the season finally paid off,” varsity girls tennis player Fonda Hu (11) said.

The girls qualified for the match after they beat Salinas 6-1 in the first round of the playoffs yesterday. They will take on Menlo-Atherton, originally seeded sixth, in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 2 p.m. at Menlo.

“I think something that is special about the team this year is our determination,” varsity captain Amanda Cheung (12) said. “Moving forward, every match is going to only get tougher so I think we just need to keep the mindset we have right now and not let our guard down while still playing the best we can.”

Girls Volleyball

The girls’ volleyball team fell 25-14, 25-18, 25-15 to the Central Catholic Raiders in the first round of the NorCal Division II State Championships in Modesto today evening.

The 14th-seeded Eagles ended their playoff run against the third-seeded Raiders following a largely successful season, which saw the Eagles win the CCS tournament for the first time in girls volleyball history.

“Coming into CCS was a big thing for us, so to come back [after last year] and to win it all in the finals was a really big thing, and we’re all super excited because Sacred Heart Prep is our league rival,” captain Lauren Beede (12) said following the finals game.