Taryn Mjelde is a senior captain for the Dons, who have seven freshmen and sophomores in their starting lineup.
The two local teams in Monday’s CIF-ss girls tennis finals have taken completely different paths to get there. The Santa Barbara Dons, a perennial tennis power, have defended their No. 1 seed on their way to the Division II championship while the Warriors have will be playing in their first Division V title match in 34 years.
All Southern Section Divisional championships are being played at Claremont Tennis Club in Claremont. The Dons begin play at 10:30 a.m. while the Warriors go at 1:30 p.m.
Santa Barbara will meet Newport Harbor to decide the title while the Warriors face Wilson of Hacienda Hights.
“Hacienda Heights Wilson have two very, very strong singles and two solid doubles teams,” wrote Warriors coach Charles Bryant in an email. “It will be our toughest match by far.”
Santa Barbara has dominated its opponents during the playoffs, winning their four postseason matches by a combined score of 59-12 (rain shortened one match).
Carpinteria, meanwhile, has experienced a pair of nail-biting matches in their past two rounds. The Warriors upset the division’s No. 1 team 9-9 in the quarters and then won another tight match in the semifinals 10-8. The quarterfinal and semifinal victories both came on the road.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DIVISION II BRACKET
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DIVISION V BRACKET
Other Southern Section title matches going on at the Claremont Club on Monday include University and Dana Hills competing in Division I. In Division III, it’s Sage Hill and St. Margaret’s while Buckley and Cerritos meet to decide the Division IV champion.
