Portola girls tennis team brings home first CIF title with 10-8 victory over Notre Dame

Portola’s players, coaches and administrators celebrate after winning the CIF title. (Photo courtesy Portola High School)

Portola High’s girls tennis team captured its first CIF title defeating Notre Dame Sherman Oaks 10-8 in the Division 3 final Friday at Claremont Club.

“Going into the finals, we knew that Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks was a tough opponent,” said Portola Coach Natasha Schottland. “They had beaten the No. 2 seed on the polls (Poly Riverside) so we were preparing for tough matches.

“But we were also used to facing tough opponents because our league is so competitive (Uni, Beckman, Woodbridge are extremely tough schools to beat). The girls knew that in order to secure our win they had to have a strong advantage after the first round.”

The Bulldogs (21-5) were led by singles players Bella Chhiv and Anne Yang, who swept all three matches. The number one doubles team, Saachi Pavani and Prisha Rapur, swept in doubles.

“We were 4-2 after the first round with a surprising win from the number two doubles team, seniors Allison Shi and Lauren Hwang. After that things fell into place and our win was secured with Pavani and Rapur after the third round making the final score 10-8.

“Our girls demonstrated, what I call, their ‘will to win’ or the idea that they need to want it more than their opponent to come out victorious. The girls absolutely showed their will to win on Friday night.”

Schottland said she was pleased to see the hard work pay off.

“It really is amazing to watch a program that I saw in the beginning years become this successful. Starting this program four years ago, I wanted to build a program that, was not only competitive, but that helped build character. I was inspired by the brilliant coaches we have on campus and looked to those established coaches for advice.

“I really wouldn’t be here today with their support along with the support of our school’s administration, ASB and staff support. It’s been truly overwhelming.”

The Bulldogs advanced to the finals with a 15-3 victory over Alta Loma in the semfinals.