5 Orange Belt tennis teams set for playoff matches
Three Orange Belt girls’ tennis teams find themselves in favorable positions to win Valley titles.
Division III Porterville and Division VI Strathmore are in the best shape as both drew No. 1 seeds. Strathmore, however, only has one other team in its bracket: McFarland, as was the case last season.
The Panthers host No. 8 seed Golden Valley at 4 p.m., Thursday in the D-III quarterfinals. The No. 2 seed is a familiar foe, as Tehachapi knocked the 2008 Panthers out of the tourney.
Granite Hills, in Division IV, is the No. 2 seed after a banner EYL campaign that saw it beat Tulare Western and tie Monache. The Grizzlies, buoyed by four individual Valley qualifiers, take on Arvin, which they beat last season for its first-ever playoff victory.
The No. 1 seed in D-IV is Immanuel, which beat Granite 9-0 in the ’08 playoffs.
Exeter is the No. 4 seed in that bracket and will play Immanuel if it gets past fifth-seeded Taft, Tuesday.
Monache has by far the toughest draw. It is the No. 10 seed in Division II and faces No. 7 Lemoore. No. 2 Garces awaits if the Marauders should get by the Tigers on Tuesday.
