Merced Union High School District

As soon as El Capitan High’s No. 2 doubles tennis team of Kate Herr and Anisha Jain won their match, their Gauchos teammates stormed the court to celebrate. Herr and Jain’s victory clinched the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship for the El Capitan girls at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

 

The girls embraced in a giant group hug and after the No. 3 doubles team of Ava Schneider and Sophia Bamaca-Colbert finished to finalize top-seeded El Capitan’s 6-3 victory over No. 2 Roseville on Wednesday afternoon, the whole team celebrated the championship.

 

“To win a blue banner is remarkable,” said El Capitan coach Jonathan McCorkell, whose team improved to 24-1 this season. “It's validation of all the hard work we’ve put in since August. Since August 1, we've been full go. So it's been months, months and months of hard work. I'm so proud of these girls and everything that they have accomplished.”

El Capitan became the first MUHSD girls tennis team to even win a Sac-Joaquin Section championship. The last team to win a tennis title in the District was the Merced High boys tennis team in 1991. “I think it's definitely something that's going to stay with us for a while, and I'm really glad that we were part of the team that can make that history,” said El Capitan senior Advaitaa Shyamprasad.

The Gauchos superior depth was needed to bring home the blue banner. After defeating Roseville 6-3 earlier this season, McCorkell knew he would need contributions from up and down his lineup. El Capitan’s top two players Lia Garcia Del Castillo and Gabriela Garcia Del Castillo’s only losses in the regular season came against Roseville’s top two players Ella Fuchs and Kloe Nguyen. Fuchs finished as the runner-up in last week’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division II singles championship.

 

Fuchs defeated Lia Garcia Del Castillo 6-0, 6-2 on Wednesday and Nguyen picked up a hard-fought 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 victory in the No. 2 singles. El Capitan’s Sarah Conrad, Amberly Her and Emma Weber all won their singles matches to tie the match at 3-3 as the three doubles matches took the court to decide the championship.

 

“I was biting my nails because I knew Roseville was going to come to play,” McCorkell said. “They're a very good team. They have just as much depth as we do, so when it was 3-3 after the singles matches, I was shaking. I was so nervous, because I knew it came down to doubles, but they stepped up big time.”

 

One of the key matches of the day was in No. 1 doubles because the Gauchos team of Shyamprasad and Joann Kasipalli lost to the Tigers team in the first matchup on Sept. 10. “It was definitely stressful, because we played the same team in preseason, and it was the only team that me and Joann lost to the entire season,” Shyamprasad said. 

 

Shyamprasad and Kasipalli showed how hard they’ve worked and improved this season as they earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Roseville’s team of Lola Guerrero and Jordyn Haygood as their teammates watched intently from the sidelines. After the match, Shyamprasad and Kasipalli were greeted by their teammates as the Gauchos moved one step closer to clinching the title. “We’re really a strong team and well-bonded, not only in tennis but with our relationship with each other,” Kasipalli said. “This is a very special moment for all of us to share.”

 

The celebrations only got bigger and bigger as the Gauchos closed out the final two doubles matches and were then presented with the blue championship banner. “It genuinely means so much to us,” Conrad said. “We made history. One thing at El Cap is about leaving a legacy and we were able to leave our legacy by winning it the first time. We were able to beat Merced and win the (Central California Conference) title this year. We’ve been able to meet all of our goals this year and it’s just been amazing.”

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.