Cowboys beat Lady ‘Balers 5-2; San Benito to host Gilroy
Thursday
SALINAS
It was, unfortunately, the same outcome for the San Benito girls tennis team on Tuesday, when the visiting Lady ‘Balers fell to host Salinas 5-2 for the second time this season.
With the win, the Cowboys clinched the Tri-County Athletic League championship, an honor they shared with San Benito last season.
The Lady ‘Balers, now 8-3 in the TCAL, will play their final match of the regular season Thursday when they host Gilroy at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club in Hollister.
Tuesday’s match, though, played out rather similarly to the previous time San Benito and Salinas played on Oct. 2.
On that date, Salinas won by a matching 5-2 margin, while the Lady ‘Balers picked up the same two wins – at No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles – on Tuesday as they did earlier in the month.
No. 4 singles player Bri Ahumada-Wolfsmith defeated Katie Gibbons 6-4,4-6 and 10-7 in the third-set tiebreaker. At No. 2 doubles, Vanessa Casalegno and Chelsea Yoakum teamed up to down Salinas’ Shelby Weber and Kalah Figel 6-3, 6-1.
From there, however, the Cowboys took the remaining five matches to defeat San Benito.
At No. 1, Salinas’ Taryn Andrews beat Amanda Marshall 6-2, 6-2; Teagan Seely defeated Abbie Woods 6-4, 6-0; and Lily O’Mary won her match 6-0, 6-1 against Hayley Barker.
In doubles, Cowboys Kristen Shimizu and Audra Bell beat Crystal Perreira and Marisa Ibarra at the No. 1 spot 6-2, 6-2; and at No. 3, Jamie McDonald and Kylie Knoles-Barnett defeated Rachel Smith and Lauren Ademek 6-2, 6-1.
San Benito, now at 15-5 overall, will host Gilroy at 4 p.m., Thursday, their last match before next week’s TCAL Tournament.
