The Menlo girls tennis team advanced to the Central Coast Section finals with a 4-3 win over St. Ignatius at Courtside Club in Los Gatos. The Knights (24-1), who earned a berth in the NorCal Tournament beginning Friday, will take on third-seeded Monta Vista (20-5) at 1:30 Wednesday at Courtside.
With the overall match tied, Menlo No. 4 singles player Helena Ong came through with the clinching victory in straight sets, battling back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set to post a 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 win.
"She regrouped and went on to win the next two games - that was the difference," Menlo coach Bill Shine said.
Freshman Alice Yao cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles. Sadie Bronk and Sarah Schinasi won at No. 1 doubles which was clutch for the Knights and the No. 3 doubles team of Paulina Golikova and Melissa Tran "has been our rock," Shine said.
The Knights top seed Liz Yao split sets then went to a super tiebreaker before falling in a hard-fought match to Katya Tabachnik.
