‘Balers atone for tough start with TCAL victory at Ridgemark
By JeAnne Jelcick Special to the Free Lance
Hollister – The San Benito girls’ tennis team bounced back in a big way from its tough Tri-County Athletic League start to beat Gilroy 7-0 at Ridgemark on Tuesday.
After falling to Notre Dame in a sweep last week, the ‘Balers (3-5, 1-1 TCAL) won six of the matches in straight sets, needing a tiebreaker in just one of the doubles matches to defeat the visiting Mustangs.
San Benito No. 1 singles player Amanda Marshall was pleased with how the team played, noting, “There’s room for improvement, but everyone is doing a good job. We’re very enthusiastic and working hard. You can learn something every match.”
The ‘Balers learned a lot during early season setbacks to Leigh, Notre Dame and Carmel, and applied some of those lessons during the match with Gilroy.
“Some of our younger girls are getting good match experience,” coach Ed Cecena said.
The only exception to San Benito’s outright dominance was the hard-fought match between ‘Balers Michelle Rovella and Marisa Ibarra and Holly Hunter and Karissa Teller. The No. 1 doubles contest went into a third-set tiebreaker before Rovella and Ibarra prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 11-9.
Rounding out the ‘Balers’ doubles victories, the No. 3 team of Crystal Perreira and Yumi Chang easily topped Natalie Toews and Rina Alvarado 6-1, 6-2.
In singles play, although the match looked more even, Marshall easily defeated Amy Huang 6-0, 6-2. Emily Castro, a first-year player for Gilroy, put up a good battle against more experienced Abby Woods, but the latter won 6-4, 6-3.
San Benito’s Lizzy Gatto dominated Garies Kwang 6-2, 6-1, but Kwang showed optimism nonetheless, saying, “I feel I have improved a lot. My serves were good, but I lost some concentration during my ground strokes. I can do better.”
Rebecca Williams, one of only two San Benito seniors, beat Cherilyn Christian 6-3, 6-1. But in the gracious manner characteristic of the girls on both sides, Williams said “Cherilyn was one of the better players I’ve gone against in the last three years. She hits a low, hard ball. For me, though, those shots are easier to return than the high, soft shots of some of the less-skilled players.”
Cecena was justifiably proud of his team. “With such a young team,” he said, “I feel we can only get better and better.”
