According to coach Ed Cecena, the San Benito Lady ‘Balers are
getting better every match.
Hollister – According to coach Ed Cecena, the San Benito Lady ‘Balers are getting better every match.
For a team that is 7-0 in the Tri-County Athletic League and 11-0 overall, that may be a fair warning for the rest of the league.
On Thursday at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club, the Lady ‘Balers kept their streak in tact by defeating visiting Notre Dame 5-3. With the win, San Benito has swept the season series 2-0 with the Spirits.
“Close matches once again, but we managed to win five of them,” Cecena said. In fact, half of the matches went to the third-set tiebreaker, which is turning into a trend for San Benito. Despite the close matches, though, the Lady ‘Balers continue to come out on top.
“The girls are mentally tough,” Cecena said. “They’re really good thinking their way through a match and our conditioning gives us an edge.
“Every match we’re improving, and it’s especially evident in our doubles.”
In doubles, Rachel Maheu and Elena Fata defeated Shannon Maciaas and Sara Horne 6-3, 6-0, while Crystal Perreira and Marisa Ibarra remained undefeated this year by beating April Harvey and Brooke Caraccioli 7-6, 4-6 (10-8). In No. 3 doubles, Bri Ahumada-Wolfsmith and Rachel Smith made sure the doubles swept by upending Melissa Speciale and Daisie Winstone 6-4, 6-4.
The doubles sweep marks the second consecutive time the doubles teams has pulled off the feat, as they swept doubles against Salinas as well on Tuesday.
“They’re doing things no else in the league is doing in doubles,” Cecena said. The coach said the pairs use poaching and crossing, two strategies of doubles tennis where the partner closest to the net will try to cut the ball off in the middle in order to surprise the opponent.
“They’ve just been really aggressive,” he said.
In singles, No. 1 player Amanda Marshall defeated Alexis Pressas 3-6, 6-4 (11-9), while Notre Dame’s Brittlyn Schwartz gave Yumi Chang her first loss of the season 7-6, 6-1.
No. 3 singles player Kaitlyn O’Keefe fell to Sara Tlymale 7-6, 6-7 (10-8), and San Benito’s Abby Woods defeated Chantelle Edwards 6-3, 4-6 (10-2).
The Lady ‘Balers will host Gilroy next Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club.
The San Benito girls tennis team will hold a car wash fundraiser on Saturday from 9am to 3pm at the Sunnyslope Medical Center, located at 930 Sunnyslope Road. All proceeds will help offset the costs of the team’s uniforms.
