BENICIA HIGH’S No. 1 doubles team of Madeline Beyer (left) and Madison Lammert made it all the way to the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals before losing to the eventual champions from Ponderosa.

Benicia High’s girls tennis team took part in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Individual Tournament on Thursday and Friday at the Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville and came away with mixed results.

Benicia’s No. 1 doubles team of Madeline Beyer and Madison Lammert enjoyed the most success for the Lady Panthers, making it all the way to the semifinals before finally losing to the eventual doubles champions from Ponderosa. Beyer and Lammert, seeded fourth in the doubles bracket, beat a River City duo, 6-0, 7-5, and then knocked off McClatchy, 6-4, 7-5. Facing Ponderosa’s top-seeded duo of Kaira Bemaldez and Ania Lobsinger in the semifinals, Beyer and Lammert managed to take a set but ultimately fell 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

The Lady Panthers had two representatives in the singles tournament. Senior Lily Hayward, who won the Solano County Athletic Conference singles championship last month, lost to No. 3 seed Marisa Minjarez of Vista del Lago, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Teammate Melanie Fisher beat Shirley Liu of Los Banos in her first match, 6-1, 6-3, but fell to top-seeded Hannah Highsmith of Vista de Lago, 6-1, 6-0.

Benicia as a team takes on McClatchy in the SJS Division II Team Tournament semifinals on Monday. The Lady Panthers, who are undefeated this season and have won 62 straight SCAC matches (a conference record), are looking for their second Section championship in the past three years. McClatchy, champions of the Metropolitan Conference, has never won a SJS title.

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