Branson, Three Doubles Teams Headed to State

Ventura's Kira Branson has qualified for the 3C2A State Championships in singles play while Branson and Chandra Padua, Dulce Contreras and Isabella DeRosa, along with Sherry Bonilla and Ella Morgan have qualified in doubles through play at the Western State Conference Championships Thursday-Saturday, April 2-4 at the VC Tennis Center.

After receiving a first round bye on Tuesday, Branson continued play in the Round of 32 Thursday with an 8-2 win over an opponent from Bakersfield to advance to the state championships to be held April 23-26 at The Ojai Tournament. She then fell to an opponent from Los Angeles Mission College in the Round of 16, but her ticket to state had already been punched.

A number of other Pirates continued their play in the WSC Championships Thursday in the backdraw of the tournament. Morgan and Bonilla each dropped singles matches to opponents from Santa Monica and Canyons, respectively, on Thursday.

Padua, meanwhile, moved forward in the backdraw via a with draw from a player from Santa Monica before getting past an opponent from Antelope Valley. Her tournament came to an end wit a 2-6, 6-4, 10-4 loss against Santa Monica.

Contreras and DeRosa each won their first contests in the backdraw with opponents from Santa Monica and Santa Barbara, respectively, before having to play each other in their second match on Thursday. DeRosa defeated her teammate and doubles partner 6-4, 6-4 Friday morning before losing a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Glendale in the backdraw final.  

In doubles play, Branson and Padua qualified for The Ojai with an 8-2 decision over a pair from Bakersfield before falling to a team from LA Mission. Meanwhile, Contreras and DeRosa defeated a duo from Canyons 8-6 to punch their ticket to The Ojai before falling to opponents from Bakersfield.

Morgan and Bonilla had to work for their ticket to state after falling in their opening match-up to Santa Monica. The worked through the back draw with a bye and a win over a team from Santa Barbara before outlasting a duo from Antelope Valley, 9-7, on Saturday to advance to state.

The 3C2A State Singles and Doubles Championships will be held in conjunction with The Ojai Tournament April 23-26.