M-A’s Bhattacharya revels in podium finish at Napa Valley Classic

M-A head coach Wendy Tabaldo made certain Bhattacharya made the 7 a.m. weigh-in call this year.

“She was glued to my hip,” Tabaldo said. “She was not allowed to leave my sight. I drove her to the venue to make sure.”

Tabaldo’s diligence combined with Bhattacharya’s skill inspired a splendid result, as M-A’s junior navigated the 84-wrestler field in the 107-pound bracket to bring home a third-place podium finish. It ties her for the top finish of all San Mateo County wrestlers at the tourney, along with St. Francis junior Katherine Love, a San Mateo native who took third place in 132s.

Entering the tournament ranked No. 6 in the state at 105s, Bhattacharya recorded a 6-1 record in the two-day tourney, held Friday and Saturday at American Canyon High School. The podium finish capped a busy three-day stretch for Bhattacharya, who also wrestled last Thursday in M-A’s opener for the Peninsula Athletic League season, winning her match at 108s in the boys’ dual meet.

“This is kind of the norm for this, knowing we’re going into Napa,” Tabaldo said of the busy three-day schedule. “We’re probably going to do the same for MidCals (Jan. 24-25 in Gilroy). With girls’ tournaments starting on Fridays, it kind of puts them in a bind. ... She made state last year, so she knows what a two-, three-day weigh-in is.”

Bhattacharya has something of a long lineage through PAL history. As a member of Royalty Wrestling Club, run by Tabaldo’s son Royal Tabaldo out of the M-A gym, Bhattacharya trains with Wendy Tabaldo’s daughter Kiely Tabaldo — the last of M-A’s four all-time CIF state champions — when the latter is home from college.

Kiely Tabaldo — now in the starting lineup at the NCAA Division II program at Grand Valley State University in Michigan — grew up training with the PAL’s first three-time Central Coast Section champion, South City’s Hiba Salem, during Salem’s collegiate career at Menlo College.

“[Bhattacharya] has looked up to Kiely since she started wrestling,” Wendy Tabaldo said. “So, whenever she can get one-on-one time with her, she really looks forward to that.”

Seeded No. 3 in 107s at the Napa Valley Classic, Bhattacharya bypassed the pigtail matches to automatically qualify for the field of 64. From there, she advanced to the quarterfinals by virtue of two first-round pins, then reached the semifinals after scoring a major decision over Twelve Bridges-Lincoln junior Lauren Catiis.

In the semifinals, Bhattacharya dropped an 8-5 decision to Santa Ana junior Cookie Serratos, ranked No. 12 in the nation at 115s by Sports Illustrated. Bhattacharya was leading in the second period when she was penalized for grabbing the fingers. With the match tied 5-all at the start of the third period, Serratos scored a decisive takedown.

“Eva was winning that match, then pulled fingers and got called on a technical violation ... and that kind of changed the landscape of that match,” Wendy Tabaldo said.

Serratos went on to win the 107s title, scoring a third-round pin in the championship finals against Elk Grove senior Giselle Solano.

Bhattacharya moved to the consolation semifinal, where she advanced to the third-place match with a 6-4 decision over Coastal Academy-Oceanside’s Alethia Tolentino. In the third-place match, Bhattacharya earned an 8-4 decision against Pitman-Turlock’s Lily Dizon, a former CIF state finalist — though Bhattacharya stepped onto the mat knowing neither Dizon nor her resume, as Wendy Tabaldo forbids her junior from looking at the bracket prior to matches.

“We try not to tell her who she’s wrestling,” Wendy Tabaldo said. “So, she knew the name, but she did not know that was a previous state [finalist]. So, sometimes it’s easier that way.”

Bhattacharya advanced to the state tournament in each of her two seasons at St. Francis, including a seventh-place podium finish in 100s as a sophomore last season.

The goal for M-A is to see Bhattacharya move up the state podium. The Bears have crowned four CIF girls’ wrestling state champions all-time — Chelsea Wilson, Fola Akinola, Alexia Bensoussan and Kiely Tabaldo. Wendy Tabaldo said Bhattacharya is a contender to join the list.

“We believe so,” Tabaldo said. “We believe we can make her a champ. That’s the goal.”

Other county placers at the Napa Valley Classic were: Terra Nova senior Ava Mendoza, fifth place, 137s; Half Moon Bay junior Kat Abramenko, sixth, 132s; Terra Nova senior Sophia Darer, eighth, 112s; South City senior Khloe Meisenbach, eighth, 142s; and Half Moon Bay junior Pluto Halterman, eighth, 192s.