The climax of the Central Section girls tennis season arrived Saturday afternoon for a handful of local players – Stockdale High singles players Abigail Eao and Jordan Li and doubles teams, Kara Campoy and Emily Cove of Liberty and Cianna Antongiovanni and Paisley Crider of Garces.
The six players participated in the conclusion of the individual section championship tournament, played at Garces high school.
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Each singles player and doubles team had their own challenges to face.
Campoy and Cove, the No. 1 seeded doubles team, won the sectional title with a semifinal victory over Rianna Stouppe and Mia Jansen of Lompoc, 6-3, 6-0, then overcame a tough first set in the title match with Haley Delgado and Hannah Rusconi of Sanger, to win 7-6 (5), 6-1.
This was Campoy’s third time competing in the sectional tournament. She finished third her freshman year in doubles, had to miss the sophomore tournament due to a club soccer commitment, finished second in doubles last year and now has the title to cap off her senior year.
“This title means a lot to me and Emily,” Campoy said.
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Liberty head coach Chris Campoy is Kara Campoy’s grandfather. Emily, she said, has been a childhood friend since they were in kindergarten together.
“Doing this with both of them is the best feeling I could ever have,” she said.
Grandpa Campoy, who is also a longtime tennis instructor with the North of the River recreational program, was an inspiration to his granddaughter’s love of tennis.
“The biggest lesson I learned from him is to enjoy the game, play for yourself and not stress about outside things. I think he made the game fun and exciting for me. Removing stress got me here.”
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Cove, who plays club soccer with Campoy, and they were teammates on Liberty’s recent CIF women’s soccer championship team series, enjoyed the tennis part of their friendship. They won the South Yosemite River doubles title earlier this season and now they have a sectional doubles title to close out the season.
“It’s really special to play with Kara,” Cove said. “It’s so fun. I was honored to be his doubles partner and get that doubles (win).”
In singles, Eao and Li both faced a true freshman phenom in Clovis West’s Yuktaa Pandit. Eao and Li, two catalysts for Stockdale’s Division I team championship on Nov. 12, each lost to Pandit on Saturday. Li lost 6-3, 6-0 in the semifinals and Eao, the defending champion of the individual singles section, fell 6-2, 7-5.
Eao’s defeat, in many ways, was a source of improvement. The senior was facing Pandit for the third time this season since learning about her. In their first scrimmage, Pandit was 6-2, 6-1. When Stockdale and Clovis West met in the Division I semifinals, Pandit won 6-2, 6-2. Getting at least close to Pandit in the second set on Saturday was progress. Eao even led the set a few times.
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“When I heard about this freshman player who was really, really good, I was a little worried and wondering how she was going to play,” Eao said. “I wasn’t ready to play her the first time. After playing her, she is definitely the strongest player I played high school tennis against. The second time we played it was a little tough and I didn’t play very well. This time I played a lot better.”
Pandit’s serve “was difficult to return,” Eao said. “I was trying to get it back and get it, deep in the middle. During rallies, she was pushing me in the corners and I was having trouble getting the ball back in the air.”
Eao said her first serve was perfect in the second set, allowing her to get some points and finding ways to give her confidence during the match.
“I used my first serve more and placed it in turns that made it more difficult to return. I tried to move the ball more,” Eao said.
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Eao, runner-up in the final, was still satisfied with her season. She helped the Mustangs win a sectional team title, the team traveled to Claremont on Friday and competed in the CIF Southern California regional tournament – a 7-0 first-round loss to No. 1 seed Corona del Mar – then returned to face quality opponents on Saturday. In his semifinal, Eao defeated Jaden Pantalinghug of Clovis East, 6-1, 6-2. The semifinal match was a rematch of the 2024 individual section final.
“It’s been a great time,” Eao said. “I am happy with this season because we have accomplished a lot.”
Li and the Antongiovanni-Crider team, after their respective semifinal defeats, played matches for third place. Li lost to Pantalinghug, 7-6 (11-9 tiebreaker), 6-3 for fourth place. Antongiovanni and Crider, who lost their semifinal to Delgado and Rusconi de Sanger, 6-1, 6-3, claimed third place with a three-set victory, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 against Stouppe and Jansen.
