VENTURA - An hour into Wednesday's 3C2A Women's Tennis State Championship match, an American River three-peat was most definitely in doubt. SoCal No. 1 seed Bakersfield captured a pair of doubles contests from the Beavers and led 6-5 in the third before Maya Cooper and Grace Sepe won four of the final five games in their doubles contest to salvage a point for ARC. The rest, as they say, was history, as the Beavers were dominant in singles play, bringing home their third straight state crown 5-3 over the Renegades.

 

BC's Naomi Pavletich and Kayleah Sanchez provided the first score of the day with an 8-5 win in No. 3 doubles. Breanna Heibert and Hannah Kratt overcame a nervous start to take Court 1, 8-4, for a 2-0 Renegade lead.

 

Cooper and Sepe were down 6-5 in No. 2 doubles to Bakersfield's Taylor Crider and Kailani Lua when they broke two of the next three Renegade serves to take an 8-7 lead. The Beavers then held for the match, giving ARC its first point of the day as they trailed 2-1 heading to singles.

 

"Obviously the win at No. 2 was critical," said American River head coach Steve Dunmore. "Our 1's and 3's hadn't lost all year. We knew BC would be tough."

 

ARC's No. 1 player Aileena Hu set the tone for singles play. The state's top-ranked player was dominant on Court 1 with a 6-0, 6-0 win to even the match.

 

"The Competition in doubles was rough," said Hu following the match. "I had to collect myself and earn that point back."

 

Bakersfield had one last gasp in No. 4 singles as Naomi Pavletich recorded a 6-2, 6-0 win to give the Renegades their final edge, 3-2.

 

Emilia White leveled the match once again with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph in No. 6 singles, making it a best-of-three race to the title.

 

Sobrepena put the Beavers in the driver's seat winning her first set 6-2, and she opened up a 3-0 lead in the second before Hannah Kratt pulled to within 4-3 on Court 2. ARC was able to hold off the Renegade charge, however, and Sobrepena won the second set 6-4.

 

Meanwhile, ARC's Sepe had won her opening set over Taylor Crider 7-5 in a hard-fought affair.  As the match progressed, the Beavers went ahead 4-3 before Sepe dropped a slice shot just over the net to clinch the state championship with a 6-3 second-set win.

 

"It has been a long journey," said Sepe, who has been a part of all three of American River's title teams, last year as a redshirt battling an injury. "I really love this team."

Wit the win, American River completes the season with a perfect 17-0 record. They stretched their winning streak to 42 matches dating back to March 31, 2023.

 

Bakersfield, meanwhile, ends the year with its lone setback in Wednesday's final. The No. 1 seed from Southern California posted a 19-1 mark on the campaign.

 

"Everything has to go right to win a state championship," said Dunmore. "To win three in a row is beyond imagination. I am very grateful."

 

1. Breanna Heibert/Hannah Kratt (BC) def. Aileena Hu/Nica Sobrepena (ARC), 8-4

2. Maya Cooper/Grace Sepe (ARC) def. Taylor Crider/Kailani Lua (BC), 9-7

3. Naomi Pavletich/Kayleah Sanchez (BC) def. Ava Doak/Emilia White (ARC), 8-5

 

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

 

1. Hu (ARC) def. Heibert (BC), 6-0, 6-0

2. Sobrepena (ARC) def. Kratt (BC), 6-2, 6-4

3. Cooper (ARC) led Lua (BC), 62, 1-6, 3-2 DNF

4. Pavletich (BC) def. Doak (ARC), 6-2, 6-0

5. Sepe (ARC) def. Crider (BC), 7-5, 6-3

6. White (ARC) def. Sanchez 9BC), 6-2, 6-2

 

Order of Finish: 1, 4, 6, 2, 5

(Robin Hester, Ventura College)