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Southwest Guilford High School

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Southwest Guilford High School

Game Summaries & Headlines.

Game Summary

2.0 years ago @ 9:07AM

Womens Varsity Tennis vs. HS Point Central HS School

Game Date
May 11, 2021
Score
COWBOYS: 8
HIGH POINT CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL: 1

May 11, 2021 

 

Cowgirls over the Lady Bison of HPC in non-conference tennis action 8-1 

 

 

With the #1 out of contention for Central, the Bison had to shift everyone up so as to cover the courts.  This put the advantage squarely on the side of the Cowgirls….it was up to them to grab the ring and hang on. 

And hang on they did.  Though the score tells a story of a one-sided win, rest assured it was not.  The Lady Bison fought admirably in both singles and doubles, challenging the Cowgirls on most courts before giving way to the Cowgirls’ play of game. 

Audrey, #1.  Two double faults and a few errant hits, but little else stopped the Cowgirl #1 in her win over Ms. Eskew.  Ms. Eskew returned well and kept the ball in play, but Audrey’s game would prove too much for the Bison’s skillset.  Audrey wins 0 and 0. 

The Lady Bison on court #2 was our own Michelle Cook’s daughter Mallory.  Coach still is not sure why Mrs. Cook would send her daughter to Central over SWG, but I am sure Mike Cook (HPC AD), her husband, had something to say in this regard.  Coach is prohibited by the NCHSAA from recruiting from other teams…so in no way is this a plea for Mallory to join the Cowgirls…but I already have an outfit ready for her when she makes that change….and a gift basket….not a bribe, just a welcome home to the Ranch gift….you know, normal stuff.   

Annie, #2.  Definitely a slower paced game than on court number 1, with longer rallies and a more balanced play.  Mallory kept Annie on her toes, hitting a higher, more loopy ball and forcing Annie to either pull the ball down for a winner or play it out and outlast the Bison.  As a side note of tennis play, pulling a ball down and forcing your will on it effectively is quite hard…Mallory played a good ball in preventing Annie from her core game.  In most cases, Annie opted to play it out, extending the match to one of the longest in singles today.  Both sides did a good job in court coverage, but the advantage went to Annie with her years’ experience resulting in Annie pushing Mallory right past her comfort level and optimal shot control allowing for more points for the Cowgirl than for the Bison.  The match was much closer than the score indicated…with many games going the distance and a few deuces to boot.  Annie wins 0 and 1.  

Closing out points, games, matches….playing your game instead of mirroring all the time (always at the heart of developing players)….and eventually pushing your game on the opponent.  This is indicative of a quality tennis player. Both Tran and Nicole have been battling this within themselves since the first match.  If the reader remembers, Nicole began to break free of this against Northwest, rallying in the second set and winning 10-3 in the third.  Tran….still was searching for this elusive player that coach knows lives within her psyche.   

Tonight, Nicole continued stepping in and taking control of the match and coach saw evidence Tran too let her inner player out to play.  Let’s read about it! 

Tran, #3.  Well, I did not say Tran found it out of the gate.  Trading serves for the first few games, tonight looked eerily reminiscent of Tran’s previous attempts at play.  Earning one, two points, Tran cranked in big and literally went for the fence…out….wide, long…multiple Bison points.   

Maybe it was the banana(s)…or maybe it was coach’s pep talk….you are right, it was the banana. 

Note to snack parents….Tran gets her own bunch of bananas for each match….and maybe scratch and sniff stickers…..yeah….I have some old school readers here.   

<Click here to buy Scratch and Sniff Stickers> (Cowgirls tennis does NOT receive anything from the purchase of stickers found in this reading – just retro fun!) 

Soooo, BB and AB (Before banana…After Banana).  AB saw a shift in the game play from BB.  Coach said build the points, outlast the Lady Bison, if the shot is not optimal, wait for it.  I am sure coach put some tennis metaphor that really spoke to Tran as well, but in short, Tran paused before going big.  Yes, there were a few errant shots, but Tran settled down.  Biding her time, Tran remained out on the court longer than even Annie’s match v little Cook, taking her opponent 3 and 0 for her victory.  Again, kudos to Ms. Coleman of Central.  In her first year of play, the Bison played remarkably well, pushing the Cowgirl to adjust her game to overcome.  Well done Tran.  Coach and the reader hopes this is the beginning of many more self-actualization moments in your tennis play this and next season! 

Nicole, #4.  As mentioned above, Nicole has a new outlook on hitters that stroke the ball in a less violent fashion than she does.  Finding and adding a new shot to add to her repertoire - lower rising forehand with a variant sidespin that remains low but kicks out to the left when hit cross court that “runs away” from the opponent.  In short, Nicole is learning how to hit pace when little pace if offered initially.  And it worked well tonight.  Instead of going big and straight, Nicole cut the forehand to the side and away resulting in not too few one-shot winners.  Keeping the pace manageable also helped keep the ball in play.  This new mindset set Nicole up for victory.  Biding her time, developing opportunities, pressing her strength when said opportunities appeared.  Keep it up Nicole!  She wins 0 and 0…..the second person off the courts this evening. 

All tennis is a mental battle between yourself, your play, the ball and of course that person on the other side of the net regardless of their stroke.  Overcoming that, one should be able to beat most players near one’s level of play – talk about a confidence margin!  The edge goes to the one who can stay mentally “in it” throughout the entire match and back it up with a game to match.  Some suggest “Never say Die!”….I just say believe in yourself, your shots, and do not brain fart too often.   

Maggi, #5.  Coming off a tough third set loss 10-8 v NW, Maggi is still finding herself on the courts.  She has come so far in regard to her mental game, her physical game, and her shot tool box…yes, her game has grown.  Maggi played a vibrant and energetic Ms. Rodriguez (Bison just coming out of soccer) who loved to run.  Ms Rodriguez forced Maggi out of her comfort zone of baseline play, pulling her into the net and pulling lob after lob on the Cowgirl.  But to Maggi’s credit, she did not let this frustrate her.  Instead, she shifted tactics.  Seeing firsthand the power of the Bison’s lob, Maggi would hedge her bets.  Maggie would get to the short ball and immediately return to the safety of the baseline forcing a point extension of further play.  This proved to Maggi’s advantage where her shot selection and ability to hit 10-15+ balls in consistency play proved to be the deciding factor in her win over the Lady Bison.  Well played on both sides of the net.  Maggi wins 2 and 0. 

It isn’t that the Cowgirls do not suffer from talent drop from top seed down to #6 and lower, every team does.  But the key to dual team victory is to ensure the talent drop isn’t as pronounced as that of you opponents.  

Shaini, #6. She always smiles…and tonight she had good reason to do so.  Shaini, held her own tonight.  Clearly outmatching her opponent stroke for stroke and able to push her game slightly on the Bison.  In addition, Shaini was simply more consistent.   She cruises to a 0 and 0 victory. 

Cowgirls sweep in singles play and in doing so, adjusts (moves up) players to give more Varsity opportunity to those not currently in the top six. 

 

Dubs: 

Court 1 – Maggi and Shaini 

Court 2 – Avery McCaskill and Lauren Harris 

Court 3 – Hannah Beamon and Audrey Toney 

#1 dubs – Maggi and Shaini jumped ahead early in the match, catching a break and holding on the next serve….then a brain fart.  OK, a collaborative brain fart (after all it is doubles and there are two people on each team).  The bison water level rose a bit and the Cowgirls were caught without their waders on.  Dropping a serve, breaking their opponents, treading water but with little direction or sight of land, the Cowgirls catch a break by holding, breaking and finishing the match.  I do not think the ladies were so grateful with the confluence of 4 points in total to secure a game as they were in the last one played.  Yes, many opportunities washed away for the Cowgirls and to the credit of the Bison, they kept the pressure on, playing good net and keeping the ball in play.  The Cowgirls persevered, finding enough driftwood to make it to terra firma and catching their footing, finish out the match in good fashion 8-5.  Well done bringing the match home. 

#2 dubs – Though not quite brave as A. Huxley wrote about, the pairing of these two ladies represented a new world of hope and game play balance.  Lauren’s shots are trigger finger ready, though not always on mark while Avery’s play is a bit more reserved.  Coach is sure they will play well together…and they did.  No, it wasn’t pretty tennis all the way through.  The Cowgirls only caught one break (net, not gross)of the Bison’s serve, but it was enough.  Settling down after a quick chat with coach at 4-3, play became more consistent.  Up 1-0, 1-1, 1-2 (this is a bad trend), 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, 4-3 and trading serves until the break at the end by punishing the Bison on short serves, Lauren and Avery collect their first Varsity win together 8-5.   

#3 dubs – Hannah (ginger) and Ms Toney (I can’t call her Audrey since we already spoke of Audrey [Serb] previously and these are not the same person) played very well being thrust together the first time in varsity play.  Though coming up short this time, there is enough good material to play with in returning to this dubs pairing again or remixing the pair with others to play mad scientist w/dubs partners.  The good:  Movement and court presence.  Returns and serves.  And overall play was decent.  The bad: Ginger didn’t steal their “will to continue” (like stealing souls, but less detrimental to the opponents overall health) on side changes and this came back to bite the Cowgirls on dubs court 3.  I know this sounds minor, but every sip counts in reaching victory.  Coach is confident this was the difference in the game score at the end of play.  Yep.   

Seriously, court 3 dubs did fine dandy.  The Bison brought the game score even and passed the Cowgirls on game count by shifting their play, advancing and securing the net as their own territory, and pushing the Cowgirls past the baseline.  Unable to lift their shots adequately, the first bounce landing shorter and shorter giving repeated access to the net and keeping the Cowgirls back.  Unable to lob to a sufficient height nor make effective passing shots consistently, the Cowgirls fall 6-8 to a very evenly matched Bison team. 

Cowgirls secure dubs 2-1 and the overall match 8-1 in non-conference tennis action. 

The Bison fall 1-3 in play while the Cowgirls raise their fortunes to 2-2 on the season and will travel to Mt Tabor on Thursday for our first conference match-0up of the season.  The Cowgirls then continue conference tennis action on Friday playing host to Parkland in the debut of their first women’s team in 11 or so years.   

 

Thank you for reading! 

 

  • Murphy 


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