Visiting Carmel spoils San Benito’s home opener on Tuesday,
downing the Lady Balers 5-2 in Hollister
HOLLISTER
The San Benito High girls tennis team lost its first match of the season on Tuesday when it fell 5-2 to visiting Carmel at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club.
The Lady Balers were without its No. 1 singles player in Hayley Barker, who was out with the flu, head coach Ed Cecena said, and the absence of Barker forced Cecena to jumble the lineup against a strong Carmel squad.
“We had some people move up and our youth really showed today,” Cecena said. “But they played well.”
Rachel Smith, normally at the No. 2 position, moved up to the top singles spot in the absence of Barker, but was unable to upset Carmel’s Julia Mordorski and lost 6-0, 6-1.
Padre Kaylan Griffith followed suit when she defeated Kristina Slavich 6-2, 6-1, while teammate Mary Christina-Waite did the same when she beat Lady Baler Alex Triolo 6-3, 6-1.
San Benito’s lone victory in singles came at the No. 3 position, where Audrey Marshall downed Carmel’s Nova Byczkowski in an epic match that saw all three sets go to tiebreakers. Cecena said the No. 3 singles match lasted two and a half hours, with Marshall pulling out the win 7-6, 6-7, 11-9.
In doubles, San Benito’s Vanessa Casalegno and Chelsea Yoakum remained perfect on the season when they upended Carmel’s Jackie Roberts and Lauren Michaels 6-0, 6-4.
The Padres took the remaining two doubles matches, however. Lilly Bovenzi and Lucy Aderle topped Danielle Dube and Alex Garcia 6-1, 6-2, while Katie Wilkins and Christina LeMaster defeated Erin Glasspool and Annie Tobias 6-4, 6-3.
The loss puts San Benito at 1-1 on the season.
Last Friday, the Lady Balers won its opener by defeating Watsonville on the road, 5-2.
The doubles swept with Casalegno and Yoakum, Marshall and Glasspool, and Helene Escamilla and Olivia Diaz all winning their matches.
In singles, Rachel Smith and Alex Triolo each emerged victorious, while Barker and Slavich lost in a pair of close matches.
Barker fell 3-6, 6-3 and 10-5 in the third-set tiebreaker, while Slavich was defeated 7-5, 7-6.
San Benito will visit Live Oak on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
