Athletes on a few Riverbank High spring sports teams competed in Section Tournaments this past week. The action closed out the season for the Bruin squads, with softball, tennis and track and field wrapping up the year.

Lady Bruin Softball

Riverbank girls played in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section CIF Tournament play, at Woodland Christian High on Tuesday, May 14. The day presented a conflict with the schedule of senior activities, which saw a number of RHS seniors missing, on the Senior Disneyland Trip instead of playing ball.

The Lady Bruins fell, 12-7, and a look at the game roster shows that there were three freshmen and three sophomores brought up from the JV team to fill in. Woodland Christian lost to Sutter in the next round and Sutter blanked Calaveras in the championship round.

Co-Ed Bruin Tennis

Riverbank coach Bruce Edwards reported on his team’s play in the Section Tournament from early last week.

“In girls singles Nathalie Garica lost in the first round. She was just off her game. She should be proud that she made it to sections in singles as a sophomore, with just two seasons under her belt,” Edwards said.

He noted that senior Kaelyn Tongson won easily against her first opponent.

“Her second opponent was the number two seed from Argonaut. She had a very good luck splitting sets but went down in the final tie breaker,” he said.

The Bruin mixed doubles teams had similar results. The number two team (Matthew Hardin and Zaira Velligas) lost 6-1, 6-1 to a strong Ripon Christian team.

“I was proud of how hard they played knowing they were out matched,” noted Edwards. “They made some good shots and never gave up.”

The coach said the number one mixed doubles team (Victor Jacobo and Maya Williams) beat the other strong Ripon Christian team.

“Their next match, the last of the day, was against the number two seed from Christian Brothers. Both of their players were club players,” said Edwards. “The boy did not even go to team practice because he took private lessons two to three times a week and had been playing for years. He clearly had great technique and looked like a seasoned football fullback.”

Riverbank lost the first set, then made a basic strategy change of trying to keep the ball away from him.

“We won the second set and lost 10-7 for a third set tiebreaker. Maya and Victor are also both sophomores,” Edwards added. “Overall, the players came home feeling good about their competitive efforts and represented Riverbank well.”

Co-Ed Track & Field

Riverbank sophomore Giselle Fernandez set another personal record, earning a third place finish in last weekend’s Sac-Joaquin Masters 1600 meter race at Davis Senior High School. Her time was 5:03.19.

Sophomore Maya Guzman placed eighth in her event with a triple jump of 36-feet, 1-½ inches.