By virtue of advancing to the league tournament quarterfinals, the Beavers advanced four athletes to the NorCal Tournament the first weekend in May.  Annie Covert and Sofia Ustritskaya each moved on to the NorCals at Chabot by reaching the quarterfinals in singles play.  The duo also advanced as a doubles team, along with another ARC pair, Meghan Keever and Angelica Montoya.

The Beavers picked up wins at No. 2 and No. 6 singles, and got the win in the final doubles match of the day, but it was not enough as they fell to the Bear Cubs.  Sofiya Ustritskaya scored a convincing 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2, highlighting a string of tightly-contested matches.  Meghan Keever went three sets in her loss at No. 3, No. 4 Angelica Montoya lost 3-6, 7-6(8-6), 3-6 match, and No. 5 Elvira Huanaco fell 2-6, 6-3, 1-6.  ARC’s other wins came by default at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles.

In their second match with the Knights, the Beavers were even more dominant in winning the conference match.  Four of the five singles victories were decided in straight sets, with Annie Covert and Angelica Montoya scoring the most impressive wins.  Covert won her No. 1 match with a convincing 6-0, 6-2 win, and Montoya breezed to a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 4. 

The Beavers again fell to the Wolverines with the lone victory coming at No. 2 doubles.  Meghan Keever and Angelica Montoya teamed up to earn a 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 win, preventing a shutout.  Sofiya Ustritskaya turned in a strong performance at No. 2 singles, winning the first set 7-6(7-0) before dropping the next two 3-6, 2-6.

The Beavers dominated the 49ers in singles and doubles play.  No. 1 Annie Covert, No. 2 Sofiya Ustritskaya, No. 3 Meghan Keever, and No. 4 Angelica Montoya swept the singles competition (Yuba did not field a No. 5 or No. 6), losing a total of only eight games in all four matches combined.  Elvira Huanaco and Dasha Zakharova teamed up at No. 2 doubles to record a 6-3, 6-0 win.  Meghan Keever and Montoya picked up a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles.

The Beavers dropped the No. 1 singles match but breezed the rest of the way in the Big 8 win over the Vikings.  All five singles matches were won in straight sets:  No. 2 Sofiya Ustritskaya won 6-1, 6-0; No. 3 Meghan Keever earned a 6-0, 6-0 shutout; No. 4 Angelica Montoya took a 6-2, 6-3 decision; No. 5 Elvira Huanaco scored a 6-0, 6-1 win; and No. 6 Dasha Zakharova sailed to a 6-1, 6-0 decision.  In the three doubles matches, ARC won each in two sets, losing only a total of seven games in the three matches combined. 

The Bear Cubs dominated the Beavers in the Big 8 match.  Santa Rosa posted straight set wins in all the singles and doubles matches.  ARC’s closest match came at No. 6 singles when Dasha Zakharova lost 7-5, 6-3.

The Beavers had to rely on a strong doubles performance after splitting the six singles matches.  Annie Covert went three sets to win at No. 1, Sofiya Ustritskaya earned a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 2, and Angelica Montoya came back to win at No. 3 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, setting up key doubles matches.  But ARC rose to occasion.  Covert and Ustritskaya paired up to scored a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 1, and Meghan Keever and Montoya earned a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2.  The match was clinched when Elvira Huanaco and Dasha Zakharova won at No. 3.

The Beavers dropped their first Big 8 match after getting blanked by the Wolverines.  Angelica Montoya pushed her No. 4 singles match to the limit with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 setback, but the remainder of the singles matches went in straight sets. Annie Covert and Sofiya Ustritskaya went three sets at No. 1 doubles, losing 6-4, 7-6(11-9).

For the second consecutive match the Beavers won a match with near perfection, winning every singles and doubles competition with the 49ers coming in a two-set win.  Elvira Huanaco again was the only ARC player to win 6-0, 6-0, but there were several other dominating performances, most notably Sofiya Ustritskaya’s 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2, Meghan Keever’s 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3, and Angelica Montoya’s 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 3.

february 26, 2008

The Beavers opened Big 8 play with a resounding win over the Vikings.  ARC not only won every match, but only No. 1 singles went more than two sets, and in those other matches the Beavers lost a total of only six games.  Annie Covert had to go three sets in the top singles match.  After dropping the first set 5-7, Covert bounced back with a 6-4 win and then won when the final set was tied 3-3 and Diablo Valley’s Alexandra Tova-Negoesch had to retire.  No. 5 singles player Elvira Huanaco and two doubles teams—No. 2 Meghan Keever and Angelica Montoya and No. 3 Huanaco and Megan Mullally—all won 6-0, 6-0.

february 16, 2008

 ARC 9, Allan Hancock 0   

Traveling southwest to Santa Maria, the Beavers completed their long road trip by dispatching the Bulldogs with a sweep of all nine matches.  No. 1 Annie Covert, No. 2 Sofiya Ustritskaya, and No. 4 Angelica Montoya had to go three sets to earn their victories, but all six of the remaining matches were won in straight sets.  Megan Mullally had a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6 and then teamed with Laine Rugen to breeze to an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles.

february 15, 2008

 ARC 7, Fresno City 2

2-1 Overall

Playing a second match at Modesto, the Beavers rolled past the Rams to kick off a two-day swing through the state.  ARC dropped the No. 1 singles match, but the remaining five singles matches went to the Beavers, and then the team took two out of three doubles matches to post the convincing win.  Sofiya Ustritskaya picked up a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2, and No. 3 Meghan Keever and No. 6 Megan Mullally each posted wins in straight sets.  Keever teamed up with Angelica Montoya to win at No. 2 doubles, and Mullally paired with Laine Rugen to earn a shutout at No. 3.

 Modesto 6, ARC 3 

In the first of two matches at Modesto—and three in two days—the Beavers fell for the first time this spring.  No. 4 Angelica Montoya and No. 5 Laine Rugen each won their singles matches, and No. 3 Meghan Keever pushed her opponent to the limit in her loss, but all the other singles matches resulted in straight set losses.  Keever and Montoya teamed up at No. 2 doubles and pulled out an impressive three-set win for the sole victory in that bracket.

february 5, 2008

 ARC 7, Sacramento City 2 

The Beavers opened the season with a sound non-conference win over the rival Panthers.  Annie Covert, Sofiya Ustritskaya, Meghan Keever, and Angelica Montoya set the tone by earning two-set wins in the first four singles matches.  ARC swept all three doubles pairings, all in two sets.