BAKERSFIELD — The Taft High girls’ tennis team won the Division III bracket of the two-day Lewis Cup on Saturday.

At Bakersfield High on Friday, Taft lost a squeaker to Division I Liberty, 4-2. Taft lost the No. 1 singles match but Dariana Calderon won at 2 singles. Taft lost the Nos. 1 and 3 doubles matches in third-set tiebreakers but sisters Cielo and Yuvia Woggn won easily at 2 doubles, 6-1, 6-1. It all came down to the last match on the court at No. 3 singles. Taft’s Diana Huizar vs. Simi Ayeni. If Huizar could win in straight sets, the match would go to Taft. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Ayeni prevailed in two tiebreaker sets, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5).

“That match was razor close,” Taft coach Jim Carnal said. “We lost all four tiebreakers that we were in. Once we start winning those, the sky is the limit.”

The second match was one sided with Division II powerhouse BHS winning 6-0. “I thought we played them tougher than in our 8-1 opening loss in August. Dariana played No. 2 Kate Kelly tough, losing, 6-3, 7-5. At No. 1 doubles, the Huizar sisters, Diana and Elizabeth, lost in a close match to Cammy Jamison and Eileen Ablin, 6-4, 7-5. And at No. 3 singles Cielo Woggn and Ivonne Gutierrez went to three sets before falling to Manika McKenna and Kaylee Hopkins, 4-6, 6-4, 10-6.

In the last match of the day, Taft crushed Delano, 6-0,  72-8 in games.

On Saturday, Taft played at North High. West beat North, 3-3, 7-6 in sets in the opener. Taft shut out Highland of Palmdale, 6-0, in the second match. North beat Highland, 6-0, for third place.

In the championship match vs. West, No. 1 Leighton May, the bracket MVP, beat Claire Naz, 6-4, 6-4. But Taft lost the other two singles, Calderon fell to Leslie Vasques, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). And, Brisa Guizar lost to Yasmin Flores, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

Doubles went better for the Wildcats. Diana Huizar and Cielo Woggn had no trouble with Jamaeka Yoro and Michelle Prieto, 6-3, 6-1. Likewise, Yuvia Woggn, who went 4-0 in the tourney, and Elizabeth Huizar beat Andrea Pachuca and Monse Lopez, 6-3, 6-3. At 3 doubles, Alondra Cisneros and Gutierrez shut out Camille Lagunzad and Estrella Ramos in the first set, 6-0, but then tightened up and lost 6-2, 10-3. Still, the one set that they won was enough to give Taft the win, 3-3, 7-6 in sets.

Taft’s varsity and JV shut out Arvin, 9-0 each, on Thursday.

Taft’s varsity improved to 17-4 overall; 8-1 in the South Sequoia League. JV improved to 9-4 overall; 7-2 in the SSL.

On Tuesday, Taft’s varsity hosts Robert F. Kennedy, while the JV travels. On Wednesday, varsity travels to Cesar Chavez to make up a match postponed by the extreme heat week. JV is here. On Thursday, varsity travels to McFarland. McFarland does not have a JV. JV plays in the Wasco doubles tournament Friday and Saturday before its season finale Monday, Oct. 9, at home vs. Shafter. Varsity travels.

Varsity hosts the South Sequoia League championships Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 11 and 12.