Balers came up against tough team in draw
After capturing the school’s first-ever league title in girls’
tennis, the San Benito High School tennis team hit a buzz saw in
the opening round of the Central Coast Section tournament on
Tuesday afternoon
– that came in the form of the Menlo-Atherton High School team
that was swirling with talent from top to bottom.
And when the action stopped on Gilroy High’s courts, the Balers
had suffered their second loss of the season in a tournament where
one loss spelled the end of the road.
Balers came up against tough team in draw
After capturing the school’s first-ever league title in girls’ tennis, the San Benito High School tennis team hit a buzz saw in the opening round of the Central Coast Section tournament on Tuesday afternoon – that came in the form of the Menlo-Atherton High School team that was swirling with talent from top to bottom.
And when the action stopped on Gilroy High’s courts, the Balers had suffered their second loss of the season in a tournament where one loss spelled the end of the road.
“I knew we were the lower seeded team going in,” said San Benito High coach Ed Cecena after watching his squad fall 6-1 to the Bears. “We did get the home match as a result of the luck of the draw, but they were very strong. We gave it our best shot; they were just too good for us today.”
Despite the loss, the Balers finished the season with an impressive 15-2 record – another first for the school.
On Tuesday, the Balers lost every match except the No. 4 singles event where San Benito’s Abbey Woods was able to fight off Menlo-Atherton’s Taylor Wentz, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.
In No. 1 singles action, San Benito’s top player, Amanda Marshall, fell 6-0, 6-0 to Menlo-Atherton’s Marietta Tuionetoa.
In the No. 2 singles match it was more of the same as Baler senor Kaitlyn O’Keefe lost 6-0, 6-1 to the Marjorie Adams. The rout was on after Menlo-Atherton’s Paige Keating cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Baler player Yumi Chang in No. 3 singles play.
The win allowed the Bears to open up a 3-0 lead. From there, the win seemed like a mere formality.
“They bageled us a bunch of times today,” Cecena said when asked about the large number of shutout losses. “I told the kids before the match to just go in there and have a good time with it, whatever happens happens. They knew that they were outmatched, but they stuck it out and competed to the best of their ability.”
Cecena went on to explain that many of the Bears’ players not only compete year-round but have their own personal coaches as well.
In doubles action, the Balers No. 1 team of Elena Fata and Rachel Maheu had lost only twice the whole season and battled hard for their entire match against Heidi Galbraita and Heidi Peck before succumbing 6-3, 6-1.
In the No. 2 doubles match, San Benito’s Crystal Perreira and Marisa Ibarra fought hard before losing to Anna Murveit and Emma Sharer by the same identical 6-3, 6-1 score as their teammates.
The last Baler team to lose on Tuesday was the No. 3 doubles squad of Rachel Smith and Bri Ahumada-Wolfsmith. They lost 6-0, 6-0 to Menlo-Atherton’s Matilda Ekman and Jordan Fantuzzi.
For as dominant as the Bears were in the contest, surprisingly neither team was seeded in the tournament. The Balers were given the home court advantage for being the co-league champions. Menlo-Atherton finished second in the Peninsula Athletic League.
The Balers normally play their home tennis matches at Ridgemark Golf & Country Club – a club with only six tennis courts. Under CCS rules, however, hosting tournament sites must have a minimum of seven tennis courts, which is why the match was held at Gilroy High.
