Friday afternoon, the Bakersfield College women’s tennis team opened its season in a strong way, defeating Porterville 6–3 in its first match of the year to start 1–0 overall. 

BC set the tone early with solid doubles performances across the courts. 

On the far court, Licet Ramos battled through a close first set, before closing it out at 7–5 narrowly escaping a set tie breaker. She carried that confidence into the second set, cruising past her opponent 6–1 to secure the straight-set victory.

Naomi Pavletich mid forehand in her singles 2-0 sweep against Porterville. (Kelly Gutierrez)

 

On the mid court, Naomi Pavletich started out strong, with a 3–0 lead. Her opponent then attempted to make a comeback by winning a game. Pavletich then put an end to that thought by regaining momentum with a perfectly timed ace to start the next game. She then closed out the first set 6–1. She remained in control throughout the second set, also winning 6–1 to earn another point for BC. 

On the last court of the first row, Kailani Lua dominated from start to finish. After taking the first set 6–1, she shut down any chance of a response in the second set, sweeping it 6–0. 

The Renegades continued to add points in the remaining singles play to make up for those lost. 

Lua was asked how she felt about her performance “I think I did pretty good for my first match of our season,” she replied. “I was really nervous, but I think I moved her around well.”

Kalani Lua with a nice serve in her singles 2-0 sweep against Porterville (Kelly Gutierrez)

When asked what she hopes to improve moving forward, Lua said her net play. “Definitely my volleys,” she said. “In my doubles match I hit a couple in the net, which is not very good, it’s definitely something to improve on.” 

Former Bakersfield College tennis player Breanna Hiebret attended the match to support the team, she shared her excitement about the season ahead. “They were just really fun to watch today,” Hiebret said. “I am really excited to see how they do.” 

 

With the 6–3 victory, Bakersfield College opens the season with confidence as the Renegades look ahead to the rest of their season.