Live Oak closed out the regular season with a sweep of Lincoln Wednesday.
The 7-0 victory was enough to keep the 12-3 overall and 12-2 in the West Valley Division temporarily in the hunt for a share of first place and a possible playoff against Pioneer.
Those hopes were dashed, however, when Pioneer won its final contest to clinch the league with one loss. That loss came against Live Oak.
Live Oak tennis coach Ken Marques was disappointed upon learning Pioneer had won, but was still proud of this girls’ effort.
He said when he considered where the team was last year, he never thought the girls would compete. Marques was happily wrong.
Now singles player Denise Hartmann and the doubles team of Ari Caldwell and Isabel Upstill await their seedings in the wider BVAL tournament that will determine who moves on to CCS competition.
Hartmann was a welcome addition to the Acorns, coming in as a German exchange student part way through the season.
She never lost this year, and ended the regular season with a 6-0, 6-0 straight set victory over No. 1 singles player Sammi McCasland.
Upstill in the No. 4 singles spot finished the season with just two losses, as she downed Becca White 6-1, 6-0.
No. 3 singles player Elsa Monterrey likewise won in straight sets, downing Elizabeth Sandoval 6-4, 6-4.
Helen Van had the toughest match of the day, having to go to a tiebreaker in the third set to pull out the win in the No. 2 singles position.
She defeated Maddie Wells 7-5 to open the match, but lost 3-6 to force the deciding set. The duo battled to a tiebreaker with Van pulling out on top 7-6.
The doubles followed suit, losing just 12 games between the three teams.
Caldwell, teamed up with her normal partner Geniece Gonzale, set the tone for the doubles teams by losing just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 win.
No. 2 doubles pair of Abbey Upstill and Fayth Lyon took down the Lincoln pair of Tiffany Sanchez and Lisett Aguilar in a 6-2, 6-3 decision.
Finally, Katie Grant and Erin Lamontagne helped clinch the sweep with a 6-2, 6-4 over Emma LaFever and Yvonne Gonzalez.
The three Acorns will compete in the BVAL individual tournament starting Nov. 6 at Leland.
