The Pioneer High School girls varsity tennis team got one step closer this week to finishing their Golden Empire League championship season unbeaten.

The Patriots (12-2, 11-0 GEL) won 7-2 at Woodland (4-7-1) on Tuesday afternoon. Pioneer has two more matches left in the regular season while the crosstown clash was the Wolves’ season finale.

“We had a competitive match for the midsection of our roster,” stated Patriots coach Marcail McWilliams. “We only lost two matches against them on their Senior Night. All the matches were long! But that made me glad that it was a challenge for our players and good match experience.”

Woodland coach Michael Mitchell appreciated Pioneer resting most of their starters Tuesday.

“This allowed all the matches to be very competitive! Pioneer still won the day, but all the matches were highlighted by neither player giving an inch,” Mitchell stated. “All points were contested!”

The Wolves celebrated Senior Night before playing Pioneer and honored four players: captain Kylie Mills, Amalia Lopez, Janet Soto and Kiaya Dennis.

Three Patriots sophomores cruised through the first half of singles play. In the No. 1 seed match, Marissa Bautista defeated Soto 6-3, 6-4. Mills lost 6-2, 6-3 to Siena Huerta in the second seed contest.

“Both Marissa and Siena had long points in their matches and it was a battle the whole time,” McWilliams recalled. “Great wins by both of them practicing patience and focus in their matches! Kylie had a little cheering section of family members so it was good practice for Siena to have to focus on her own game.”

In the No. 3 seed match, Arielle Chessher beat Woodland junior Trinity Hutchison 6-2, 6-0.

“Hutchison was game to the challenge but Ms. Chessher controlled the points,” Mitchell stated.

Unlike the first three matches, the next three of four went to super tiebreakers. Wolves junior Alejandra Vargas took on Pioneer freshman Adori Reyes in the No. 4 seed match. Reyes won the first set 7-5 and Vargas came back to win the second by the same score. Reyes prevailed in the super tiebreaker 10-7 to win the matchup.

Woodland captured its first victory of the day in the No. 5 singles match. Lopez lost the first set to Patriots senior Olivia Higareda 6-1. However, she bounced back to win the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5).

“Lopez, who has had several super tiebreakers this year without winning one, found herself with a big lead at 9-4 needing only one more point for the victory,” Mitchell recalled. “Ms. Higareda was having none of this though and brought the score all the way back to 9-9.”

Lopez won an intense super tiebreaker 11-9 to earn the match victory.

“It was very close, that mental game is the biggest hurdle, keeping down frustration and doubt,” McWilliams stated. “It’s important to focus on good footwork and staying positive after every point.”

In the final singles match at the No. 6 seed, Pioneer senior Sukhi Shergill defeated Wolves junior Annay Santana Hernandez 6-2, 6-1.

“The girls were very good sports with each other, admitting that a lot of points could have gone the other way, but Ms. Shergill’s steadiness was the key to her win,” Mitchell stated.

In the only doubles match played Tuesday, Woodland earned a narrow victory. Dennis and sophomore Alondra Cano defeated freshmen Anna Callens and Emily Tang. The Patriots freshmen duo came back to win the first set 7-5. Dennis and Cano countered with a second set win by an identical score. The Wolves won the match with a 10-8 victory in the super tiebreaker.

“Kiaya and Alondra do whatever I ask and both have a ‘you will have to beat me’ attitude! Mitchell emphatically stated. “I love their competitive spirits!”

Woodland forfeited the two remaining doubles matches to ultimately lose by a final score of 7-2.

Pioneer hosts Dixon on Thursday in its final league match of the year. The Patriots conclude the regular season in West Sacramento on Friday at 4 p.m. against River City.

The postseason begins next week with the GEL tournament hosted by the Wolves. Singles will be played on Monday and doubles will compete on Wednesday, each beginning at 2 p.m.

Pioneer will send its top two singles players to the eight-girl tournament on Monday to compete against the top individuals from the other six schools. It is still to be determined whether if Woodland will be represented by Mills or Soto according to Mitchell.

“We will face more teams with a cheering section in the future so it’s good practice,” McWilliams foreshadowed. “Last year the team we faced in playoffs was a little loud. We’re not used to that so it’s good to get a little experience now. I think next year in (the Monticello Empire) League, the parents may be more aggressive in cheering for their players. We will have to find out!”