Posted: Nov 07, 2025
ROSEVILLE, Calif. – St. Francis junior Maria McDougall swept Tracy junior Nayomi Shih in the semifinal round before falling to top-seeded Lyla Van Loben Sels of McClatchy in the Division I championship match of the Sac-Joaquin Section individual girls' tennis championships, finishing as section runner-up for the second consecutive year.
The third-seeded McDougall posted a straight-set, 6-3, 6-2, victory against No. 2 Shih, who had dropped only four games in 16 sets throughout the 2025 season. This set up a revenge matchup for the SJS final: Van Loben Sels won the section title in 2023 but was upset by McDougall in an 11-9 tiebreaker during the 2024 semis. Van Loben Sels prevailed in the 2025 meeting, 6-1, 6-4, to reclaim her crown.
McDougall also becomes the first St. Francis player to reach the section individual final multiple times since Emani Decquir won three straight titles from 2006 through 2008. Decquir later on to star at the U.S. Naval Academy, where she snared four consecutive Patriot League first-team nods plus the conference's Player of the Year in 2013.
Prior to the final, Troubie sophomore Sandra Wallace lost to Van Loben Sels, 6-0, 6-2, in the opposite semifinal from the McDougall-Shih matchup. Impressively, Wallace is the first player to pick off a game against the CKM junior since West Park's Chrissy McPhee fell by scores of 6-1, 6-1, back on October 15. Van Loben Sels had since double-bageled Pleasant Grove's Maya Nanigian, Christian Brothers' Lilian Steenhausen, then McPhee in Thursday's quarterfinal round.
McDougall and Wallace will rejoin their St. Francis teammates in the SJS team semifinal against top-seeded Oak Ridge on Monday. The Trojans enter the round of four with a perfect 20-0 record on the season. Match time is 2 p.m. at Broadstone Sports Club in Folsom.
McDougall also becomes the first St. Francis player to reach the section individual final multiple times since Emani Decquir won three straight titles from 2006 through 2008. Decquir later on to star at the U.S. Naval Academy, where she snared four consecutive Patriot League first-team nods plus the conference's Player of the Year in 2013.
Prior to the final, Troubie sophomore Sandra Wallace lost to Van Loben Sels, 6-0, 6-2, in the opposite semifinal from the McDougall-Shih matchup. Impressively, Wallace is the first player to pick off a game against the CKM junior since West Park's Chrissy McPhee fell by scores of 6-1, 6-1, back on October 15. Van Loben Sels had since double-bageled Pleasant Grove's Maya Nanigian, Christian Brothers' Lilian Steenhausen, then McPhee in Thursday's quarterfinal round.
McDougall and Wallace will rejoin their St. Francis teammates in the SJS team semifinal against top-seeded Oak Ridge on Monday. The Trojans enter the round of four with a perfect 20-0 record on the season. Match time is 2 p.m. at Broadstone Sports Club in Folsom.
