After the 2024 season ended, Los Gatos High School girls tennis coach Justin Stenger predicted 2025 would be a special one for the program.
This proved prescient, as the Wildcats had one of their best seasons in recent memory, finishing as the runner-up in the Central Coast Section tournament. They fell to league rival Los Altos 5-2 in the title match on Nov. 18 at Los Gatos Swim and Racquet Club.
In going 12-0 to win the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division—the best league in the CCS—the Wildcats beat Los Altos in their two regular-season matchups. However, defeating a talent-rich Eagles squad for the third time in as many tries proved too difficult, especially for a Los Gatos squad that was missing its No. 2 singles player due to injury.
“We knew going in what we needed to do and Los Altos was just a better team than us today,” Stenger said. “They’re the defending CCS and NorCal champs, and very much on track to do that again this season. But our girls played their hearts out today and it caps what was an amazing run this year. Our goal this year was to win the De Anza, so regardless of the outcome today, they are champions.”
The team’s lineup for the final included Kayla Mitchell, Tuleen Ikkawi, Anya Chahaun and Lila Zamansky at the Nos. 1-4 singles positions. The doubles teams featured Lera Marinicheva and Kaley Do at the No. 1 slot, Sejal Pancholy and Sophia Kim at No. 2 and sisters Syona Rama and Riya Rama rounding out the No. 3 doubles position.
The Wildcats’ two wins in the title match came at No. 2 and 3 doubles. Pancholy and Kim lost just one match the entire season, while the senior duo of Marinicheva and Do provided leadership as the co-captains of the team.
“Sejal and Sophia had a phenomenal season,” Stenger said. “That’s a sophomore and a freshman, so we’re really excited about having them back in the years ahead. And Lera and Kaley have been playing together for four years, and they’ve made their presence felt in different ways.”
In high school team tennis, depth is paramount. That’s because a victory at the No. 3 doubles position carries the same weight as the No. 1 singles slot.
“Depth is what made the difference for us this year,” Stenger said. “So many teams in the league depend on their top four singles players, but not us. We were so much stronger on those doubles lines, and that’s what carried us through the season.”
Just to reach the final, Los Gatos had to beat three perennially tough foes: Leigh, Sacred Heart Prep and Monta Vista. Los Gatos avenged its only loss in the regular-season when it downed Leigh 5-2 in a second-round matchup. It was the semifinal contest against Monta Vista that made Stenger particularly proud. Despite having one of its top players unavailable due to injury, Los Gatos battled through adversity to prevail, 5-2.
“What they did was one of the best matches I’ve ever been a part of,” Stenger said. “All the wind was taken out of our sails, but everyone came together. We had to craft a lineup we’ve never used before, and had to put it together that morning. You see our No. 2 doubles team win in a third-set tiebreaker and Lera—who hadn’t played singles all season—come off the court with a win at three singles was just awesome. To me, that’s what I’m going to remember. Reaching the championship was great, but I’m going to remember the Monta Vista match.”
Speaking of memorable, Mitchell gave the program four years of stellar play, all at the No. 1 singles position. Blending athleticism, skill and powerful strokes, Mitchell dazzled on the court with an array of shotmaking. However, it was her intangibles that Stenger won’t soon forget.
“Kayla has all of it, just everything,” he said. “She’s so much more than tennis. One of the best I’ve ever been around, and I’m just lucky to have been around a kid of her caliber. It’s tough knowing her time as a Los Gatos High tennis player is coming to an end.”
Just three days after the team final, Mitchell dropped just nine games over four matches to win the CCS singles championship. It was a fitting end to Mitchell’s prep career—going out on top to cap a magnificent run.
In capturing a De Anza Division championship, the team—and specifically, four-year senior starters Mitchell, Do, Marinicheva and Chahaun—did something utterly remarkable. Four years ago, the Wildcats were in the SCVAL’s lower El Camino Division.
That season, the then-freshmen quartet helped lead the team to an El Camino Division title. The following season, they were promoted to the upper De Anza Division. In most cases, teams that get promoted usually find themselves back in the El Camino a year or two later because the jump in competition tends to be steep.
Instead of getting demoted, Los Gatos incrementally worked its way up the standings before reaching the apex this season.
“It’s a really difficult thing to do,” Stenger said. “These seniors can say they won an El Camino and De Anza championship. I don’t know how many players can say that. This year to be 12-0 in league, it’s wild. We’re celebrating that championship.”
The team dinner in the aftermath of the Los Altos match proved to be the final time where everyone was together.
“It was all smiles,” Stenger said. “The younger players started talking about next year, and the seniors are there smiling and talking about who’s going to be captain next year. When you see that, I couldn’t help but smile. To see that resilience and looking to the future after having such a tough day, it gives me hope and makes me want to come back and do it all over again.”
