From the sports archives: Mills girls’ tennis team is bound for the Central Coast Section playoffs

That is until Aragon coach Dave Owdom referenced the fact during the pre-match introductions. Mills coach Scott Selig didn't want his players to know and then be undone by any pressure.

So it was ironic that the one player who mentioned anything about pressure, Mills' Janice Pang, who along with teammate Clarissa Ho, clinched the match for the Vikings by winning at No. 3 doubles as Mills went on to beat the Dons 6-1.

The Vikings finished league play with a 7-7 mark while Aragon finished a game behind with an 8-6 record.

"Janice, when she found out [Tuesday's match] was for the playoffs, she was scared of the pressure," Selig said. "(By not telling the team earlier) they didn't have much time to think about it (pressure)."

Despite the lopsided look of the final team score, the individual matches were anything but one-sided. Five of the seven matches went to three sets, with Mills winning four of them. The only two matches that were won in straight sets -- No. 2 and No. 4 singles -- were won by Mills' Kimberly Siu and Monica Diliberto, respectively.

The win also reversed Aragon's 5-2 win the first time these teams met in Millbrae.

"As a team, all the way around, we played better than the first time around," Selig said. "It was a very good match. Close tennis. Close all around."

It became evident early on the team match would be close. After the first sets had been completed, Mills was up in four of the seven matches. And if there was any doubt about what the teams were playing for, they were answered when line judges were requested to make line calls at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles matches.

The match was well over an hour old when Mills' Siu came off the No. 2 singles court with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Shannon Murphy. Diliberto came off a few minutes later, winning her No. 4 singles match 7-5, 6-3 over Alice Liu. After that, it was a good 30 minutes before the Vikings got team point No. 3 when Amanda Bellister finished off Katherine Loh at No. 1 singles, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

It's the second time in a row Bellister beat Loh and for the second time, she did it in three sets after dropping the first. Loh may have more natural ability and bigger shots, but Bellister knows how to play her game -- keep hitting the ball back and wait for her opponent to make mistakes.

"She's tremendously mentally tough," Selig said of Bellister, who is in her first year of high school tennis. "That's how she pulls out matches. She doesn't give up. She'll fight for every point."

Aragon's Lindsay McMurdo prevented a Mills singles sweep by winning at No. 3, beating Christy Chan 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. McMurdo went up 5-0 in the first set and won handily but Chan came out firing in the second set. She won the first three games and cruised to the second-set win.

Chan appeared to run out of gas in the third set as McMurdo used her height advantage to lob balls over the net-charging Chan, who didn't have enough energy to chase balls down.

By the time McMurdo finished off Chan, all three doubles matches were into the third set -- with Mills prevailing in all three. The match-clinching win came at No. 3 doubles. Mills' Pang and Ho had a chance to win in straight sets, leading 4-3 in the first set but the Aragon duo of Katie Wayne and Lauren McMurdo won four of the final five games to take the first set 7-5. Pang and Ho returned the favor in the second set with a 7-5 decision and made quick work of Aragon in the final set. With the third set tied at 2, Mills won three of the next four games to take a 5-3 lead before closing out the victory.

"We just made too many unforced errors," said Aragon coach Dave Owdom. "And they (Mills) didn't beat themselves.

"Mills played very well today."

The Vikings finished off the match in convincing fashion when Kyssia Mendoza and Kimberlin Chin won 6-2 in the third set at No. 1 doubles while Kaitlin Chin and Jennifer Fong took their third set 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.

As Selig watched the final matches finish up, he thought about what his team had accomplished and could say nothing but, "Wow." Mills is no longer the juggernaut it was when making the PAL playoffs was essentially a given. Now, Selig doesn't focus on the playoffs -- just on having his team improve as the season goes along.

"I honestly don't look that far ahead," Selig said. "I lost seven starters from last year. I knew I had a couple of good returning players and so good players coming up (from frosh-soph), but that's probably the most (starters) we've ever lost in many years.

"We've had a few pleasant surprises (this season.)"

Including a spot in the playoffs.