San Benito’s Erin Glasspool and Alex Triolo advanced all the way
to the Tri-County Athletic League Tournament championship on
Tuesday in Salinas, but the Baler pairing could not claim the
doubles title in the end.
SALINAS
San Benito’s Erin Glasspool and Alex Triolo advanced all the way to the Tri-County Athletic League Tournament championship on Tuesday in Salinas, but the Baler pairing could not claim the doubles title in the end.
After defeating Notre Dame’s Carmela Flores and Brenda Ponce 6-4, 6-3, Glasspool and Triolo squared off for the TCAL doubles title against Salinas’ Casey Watt and Melinda Obusada.
And although the San Benito pairing entered the doubles final with a 19-0 record, and had previously defeated Watt and Obusada twice during the regular season, the Salinas duo earned the victory in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
“I told them they have nothing to be ashamed of,” San Benito head coach Ed Cecena said on Tuesday. “But they were pretty bummed about losing their last match.”
Glasspool and Triolo finish the season with a 19-1 record, and as a result fall one match short of advancing to next week’s Central Coast Section Championships.
Last year, Glasspool and then-partner Rachel Smith advanced to the CCS tournament as a doubles pairing when they knocked off teammates Vanessa Casalegno and Chelsea Yoakum in the TCAL final, and delivered the only loss to Casalegno and Yoakum’s prep career — the two finished a 43-1 record.
This year, Glasspool and Triolo teamed up, went 17-0 during the regular season and earned the No. 1 doubles ranking entering the year-end tournament.
The two received a first-round bye on Monday, then defeated Kayla Hoyt and Denise Santos of North Salinas 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinal round later that day.
After topping Ponce and Flores in the semifinals on Tuesday, though, Glasspool and Triolo met up with Watt and Obusada in what was the third time the two pairings have met this season.
Both meetings earlier this season fell in San Benito’s favor, although both matches were rather tight. In September, Glasspool and Triolo won 7-5, 7-6, while last month, the Baler duo won 6-2, 0-6 and 11-9 in the third-set tiebreaker.
“They were very evenly matched, and it’s very hard to beat someone three times in a row,” Cecena said. “It’s a tough position to be in. But they played really well. Their quality of tennis was really good.”
Glasspool and Triolo were the only members from the San Benito girls tennis team to advance to the second day of action.
On Monday, Notre Dame’s Flores and Ponce eliminated San Benito’s other doubles team from contention — sisters Kristina and Kelsey Slavich. The singles players during the regular season teamed up as a doubles pairing on Monday, but lost to the Notre Dame duo 6-0, 6-2.
In singles, both of San Benito’s two selections were eliminated on Monday as well.
Audrey Marshall managed to win her first match of the day when she defeated Gilroy’s Jennifer Kwong 6-7, 6-3 and 10-7 in the third-set tiebreaker.
However, Marshall was unable to continue the trend later in the day, falling to Notre Dame’s Auburn Carpenter, the No. 2 seed, 7-5, 6-3.
Meanwhile, Alex Garcia was eliminated from the TCAL Tournament in her first match, when she lost to Nia Casad of Everett Alvarez 6-0, 6-1.
