Thursday was a great day for Moore League girls’ tennis, as all three teams who played in first-round CIF action advanced; Wilson, Lakewood, and Poly will all move on to the second round.  The league’s second and third seed knocked out two teams that were the champions of their league.

Wilson 12, Hart 6

The Bruins were squeezed by a rash of the flu, which forced them to emphasize the doubles game more than usual—Jessica Cedillo, who competed for the Bruins in the Moore League singles title tilt, could only complete one set (which she won).  Natasha Smith, the Bruins’ top singles player when she’s healthy, was also ill.

Still, they’re moving on with an impressive win, and will face Serrano (the Mojave River League champ) on Saturday.

Lakewood 10, Mark Keppel 8

The Lancers got strong play from top player, sophomore Suzy Tan, who swept her singles sets against Keppel, and the top doubles tandem of Mackenzie Thorpe and Kelli Prowant swept as well.  With the big-time win over a quality program (Keppel was the Almont League champ and had lost just one match prior to Thursday), Lakewood moves on to the second round, where they’ll face either West Ranch or Corona Santiago. 

Poly 12, La Reina 6

Poly was on the road against a La Reina team that was the Tri-Valley League champion this year, but the Rabbits dug it out for the huge win, thanks to a doubles sweep.  They’ll now advance to round two to face San Luis Obispo or San Gabriel.

Come back tomorrow for previews of the Saturday matchups, and on Saturday for results!