The best season in nearly five years for the San Benito girls tennis team ended with a thud Tuesday, as the Balers lost to Burlingame 14-4 in the opening round of the Central Coast Section playoffs.
The Balers never got use to the CCS scoring system, which included a round robin system where three singles players and three double teams played each opponent in only one set.
For the Balers that meant less time to adjust as the Burlingame skill overwhelmed San Benito in the first set. San Benito dropped five of the first six sets to fall behind, and that momentum carried throughout the day. Only the No. 2 doubles team of Annie Tobias and
Gianna Brigantino won, besting Burlingame’s Lisa Patel and Martina Lange 7-6. But as a team, San Benito could never recover.
Throughout the three-hour match, San Benito won only four individual sets, and no Baler won more than one.
“They are obviously a very strong team from a very strong league,” head coach Ed Cecena said. “They finished third in their league and they came over here and took it to us. You can see the difference of skill level.”
And the CCS format didn’t help the Balers’ chances, he said.
“We are defiantly not used to this,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve played this format. They’ve played it before. They were more familiar with it. I don’t think it would have changed the outcome of the match, but it was totally different for us.”
Once San Benito settled into the format, though, individuals started to play better.
No. 1 doubles team of Berenice Bribesca and Cathy Frusetta responded after a first-match loss to defeat Burlingame’s No. 2 substitute team of Madeline Bower and Sammy Kotinel 6-2.The Balers, though, didn’t win another doubles match.
On the singles side, after falling behind, No. 1 player Audrey Marshall started to make a late run at Burlingame’s Alex Harrigan but couldn’t hold onto momentum and fell 6-2. Marshall played in only one more set – losing 6-0 to No. 2 Lauren Sinatra – before being taken out for substitute Amanda Alvarez.
The San Benito substitute won her only set of the day, defeating Haley Shafer 6-2 to close the match.
“We knew we were going into a match playing against a team of a higher caliber, which always messes up your mental game,” Marshall said. “But we’ve played a lot of girls that were better than us. So we knew how to handle it.”
SBHS No. 2 player Ally Triolo never found a consistent offensive attack and never won a game, losing 6-0 in all three sets she played. The Balers’ No. 3 singles Kelsey Slavich finished 1-2 on the day with a 6-3 win over Burlingame substitute Sara Arafina.
Despite the loss, it was still a strong and unforgettable season for the Balers, who earned their first postseason berth since 2007.
“I’m just blessed that our team had the skills to get to CCS because for years – ever since I’ve been on this team, which has been for four years – we have never even qualified to go to CCS,” Triolo said. “Qualifying is a huge deal. And I think we are lucky and fortunate
that we get to play a team of that caliber. Because it only makes us better.”
She continued: “But of course we are going to be sad that we lost. We have to pat ourselves on the back because we worked this hard to get here. It’s a big accomplishment.”
With six graduating seniors, it was important to leave a lasting mark, Marshall said.
“We really just wanted to make sure this year was special in some way,” she said. “We didn’t take first in league but I’m almost happy about it because we wouldn’t have had this opportunity right here. And I never though we would get this far. It’s so cool that we did and actually got to host it right here.”
The Balers end the season with an overall record of 15-4.
