Girls’ tennis sweeps second straight match
With the start of the Central Coast Section playoffs less than two weeks away, the San Benito girls’ volleyball team got an early taste of the type of competition it will likely face as the postseason unfolds at Presentation High’s Panther Challenge on Saturday. And after stumbling to a fifth-place finish, ‘Balers coach Dean Askanas said the tournament might be exactly what his team needed.
“I think it was good for us to take some bumps and bruises,” Askanas said. “It was really good for us. It was a learning experience and a wakeup call.”
The ‘Balers have stampeded to a 10-0 record in the Tri-County Athletic League, the latest a three-game victory at Alisal on Tuesday night, but Askanas believes that facing, and even losing to, higher-caliber competition over the weekend was much more valuable to his team.
“We need to step it up,” he said. “It’s been too easy for us in league. (The Panther Challenge) was a good indicator to us. They were good competition, but beatable. And we didn’t step up to the table and do it.”
After blowing past Santa Cruz and Aragon in two-game sweeps to start the day, the ‘Balers (27-6) played well in their final pool play match, but fell to St. Mary’s (Berkeley) 25-20, 26-24.
Advancing to the Gold Division, San Benito then came out with what Askanas termed “the worst match we played,” a 25-9, 25-20 loss to Presentation. “We played really bad,” he said. “We were just flat. It was about the worst I’ve seen us pass the ball and we deservedly lost.”
Relegated to the fifth-place game, San Benito rebounded to defeat McQueen (Nevada) 25-12, 25-18.
Days later, Askanas was still shaking his head about the loss to Presentation, in particular. “When you get deep in NorCals, you’re going to see competition in Division I that’s equal to that level. … Those teams are beatable, but you have to be on top of your game.”
In defeating Alisal 25-17, 25-15, 25-10 on Tuesday, the ‘Balers received 15 kills from junior Emily Kortsen.
The ‘Balers host Salinas on Thursday in a match that looks likely to have significant bearing on the TCAL championship. At 9-1, Salinas can take a big step toward forcing a shared title with a win.
“There’s so much riding on it,” Askanas said. “We can clinch the championship here or they can tie us up. … They’re coming to get us. I’m sure it’ll be a very emotional match.”
San Benito beat the Cowboys at Salinas in three games on Oct. 3.
Girls’ Tennis
The San Benito girls tennis team notched its second consecutive sweep Tuesday, rolling past Alisal 7-0 in Salinas. The ‘Balers received straight-set wins in all but one match to improve to 6-5 in Tri-County Athletic League matches with one contest remaining.
No. 1 and No. 2 singles players Amanda Marshall and Lizzy Gatto led the way for San Benito, winning 6-1, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-0, respectively.
On the heels of their win over Alvarez on Thursday, San Benito (8-10) heads into its final league match with powerful Salinas on a winning note.
“We’ve got a bit of momentum,” ‘Balers head coach Ed Cecena said.
San Benito completes its season by competing in the TCAL Tournament next week.
