Three locals advance to individual semifinals
| Friday, Nov 06 2009 11:56 PM
Last Updated Friday, Nov 06 2009 11:56 PM
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Central Section individual tennis championships
At Visalia-Redwood High School
SINGLES
No. 4 Chelby Cooke, Bak. Christian, vs. No. 1 Gabrielle Gatewood, Redwood, 10 a.m.
No. 3 Gracie Jacobs, Garces, vs. No. 2 Lyndsay Cooke, BCHS, 10 a.m.
Championship, noon
DOUBLES
No. 4 Michelle Frea-Robin Draper, Fresno-Memorial, vs. No. 1 Erin Carlson-Jessica Wang, Clovis-Buchanan, 10 a.m.
No. 6 Pookie Gonzalez-Ashley Valdez, Fresno-Bullard, vs. No. 2 Lily Schuler-Carolyn Stevens, BCHS, 10 a.m.
Championship, noon
It's beginning to look a lot like last year at the Central Section girls tennis individual championships.
We'll find out how much like last year when the tournament concludes today at Visalia-Redwood High School with singles and doubles semifinals at 10 a.m. and finals to follow at noon.
For the second straight year, three of the section's four singles semifinalists are from Kern County, and the fourth is two-time defending section champion Gabrielle Gatewood from Redwood.
Last year, Gatewood beat Bakersfield Christian's Chelby Cooke in the semifinals before beating sister Lyndsay Cooke for the championship for the second straight year. She plays Chelby in the semis again, and Lyndsay, the No. 2 seed, is still alive on the other half of the draw.
The only difference this year is the fourth semifinalist. Instead of East's Nancy Ramirez, it'll be Garces freshman Gracie Jacobs who plays Lyndsay Cooke. Cooke beat Ramirez in the quarterfinals this time, 6-2, 6-1 on Friday. Chelby Cooke beat Frontier's Danisa Hromadkova 6-0, 6-0 in her quarterfinal.
Bakersfield Christian also has its top doubles team in the semifinals. Lily Schuler and Carolyn Stevens, the No. 2-seeded team, beat Garces' Zoe Tucker-Sarah McDermott 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals Friday. Schuler-Stevens will play Pookie Gonzalez-Ashley Valdez of Fresno-Bullard in the semifinals.
