It still may be early, but the performance this season from the
San Benito Lady ‘Balers has been unexpected.
Hollister – It still may be early, but the performance this season from the San Benito Lady ‘Balers has been unexpected.
The tennis team has jumped out to their best start in six years under the guidance of coach Ed Cecena, compiling an 8-0 overall record.
After Tuesday’s 7-0 win over a visiting Everett Alvarez squad at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club, the Lady ‘Balers remain perfect in the Tri-County Athletic League at 4-0.
“I didn’t think we were all that deep, but it shows you how much the girls have improved,” Cecena said. “They’re building on their game and that’s really good to see.
“Obviously, people will see the standings and see us on top, so there’s a little bit of buzz in that regard. But we need to get a win over Salinas and then we’ll be in good shape.”
On Tuesday, San Benito continued their streak when they swept Alvarez.
In singles, No. 1 Amanda Marshall defeated Susie Ngoi 6-0, 6-1, and teammate No. 2 Yumi Chang beat Charleen Speer 6-0, 6-1. No. 3 singles player Kaitlyn O’Keefe defeated Simone Gee 7-6 (7-1), 6-2, while Abby Woods won out the singles matches by beating Christina Wong 3-6, 6-2 (10-3).
“The No. 3 and No. 4 singles matches could have gone either way,” Cecena said. “The girls are thinking and adjusting and doing the things to win the match.”
In doubles, the No. 1 pairing of Rachel Maheu and Elena Fata walked with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Katrina Batala and Grace Chong, and San Benito’s Crystal Perreira and Marisa Ibarra defeated Mariah Vega and Tempestt Edward 6-0, 6-2. The No. 3 doubles team of Rachel Smith and Bri Ahumada-Wolfsmith completed the sweep by winning their match 7-5, 6-1 against Bebette Castro and Gabby Quintero.
Cecena said the strong start is a combination of some unexpected depth in doubles and experience, as all 10 girls on varsity had seen some varsity action last year.
But for Cecena, now in his sixth year at SBHS, his strongest start to a season was 3-2. So 8-0 mustn’t be that bad.
“A lot of schools had a lot of seniors and we managed to have a lot of returnees,” the coach said. “Right now, we’re on a roll.”
The Lady ‘Balers will look to make it nine wins on Thursday when they travel to Salinas to battle Alisal at 4pm. On Friday, San Benito will head to Morgan Hill to take on Live Oak at 3:30pm.
“Everyone did a great job today,” Cecena said. ” I hope we can continue our good play.”
