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Cowboys Athletics

Southwest Guilford High School

Cowboys Athletics

Southwest Guilford High School

Game Summaries & Headlines.

Game Summary

1 year ago @ 11:26PM

Womens Varsity Tennis vs. Northern Guilford HS School

Game Date
Sep 21, 2022
Score
COWBOYS: 5
NORTHERN GUILFORD HIGH SCHOOL: 4

Cowgirls over the Lady Nighthawks of NG 5-4 in a close conference tennis match

 

Tonight’s play concludes the Cowgirls’ three a week match rotation.  Oh, it has been intense, especially in this conference. 

 

Northern Guilford is a quality team.  The Cowgirls simply had the upper hand in the singles race last time, winning 5-1 before doubles took to the court.  Though adding one more win on Dubs court 3….(yes, Audrey and Anna took an uncharacteristic loss on dubs court#1), The pressure was off.  Just for the record, the Dubs court 1 loss was 7-9.  Rachael and Betsy also played to a 7-9 loss.  Tight and intense on the dubs front.

 

So tonight, Coach knew the ladies had to do their upmost to play to their strengths and grab all of the singles’ courts they could so as to lessen their reliance on the dubs action. 

 

 

Singles:

Audrey bettered her score against the #1 Nighthawk.  Though playing a bit reserved in her serve, she had little trouble holding the Nighthawk off from developing match winning aspirations after the drop of the first ball.  Keeping her to one game, Audrey wrapped things up in 40 minutes.  0 and 1. 

 

 

Special thanks to Mr Mode who came out to witness the on-court happenings…not just with Audrey, but the entire top 6 Cowgirls and stayed for a spell before the “not a puppy anymore” furry friend called him and asked where supper was.  Puppies text.  Real dogs call. 

 

For this Herculean effort to cross the great parking lot divide from the school and tennis courts, the Cowgirls and Coach would like to reward you with this certificate of appreciation. 

https://gcsnccom-my.sharepoint.com/:i:/g/personal/murphyk2_gcsnc_com/EW5TLw8HdItBjYCtHfSsdsoBa10g7feUpj44JVP_e-djag?e=VU2GZJ

 

Other readers….Though it has been commented that Coach’s writings are better than used tissues during cold season, come on out for a “live” showing of the great game of tennis…cheer on the action, the young ladies, the game itself!  Though we do not offer concessions, our free ticket price hits the mark on bringing yourself after a long day of school.  5 Minutes of watching these young ladies belt an innocent tennis ball across the court to another young lady who is more than willing to reciprocate….well, it brings joys to the hearts of many.  Come on out and maybe YOU will be the “Fan of the Week” next time!

 

 

If the reader remembers, Anna and Lauren swapped spots for the second half of the season.  The first time the Cowgirls played the Nighthawks, Anna was 3 and Lauren 2.

 

Anna found her rhythm right away.  Allowing her opponent to hold serve only twice the first set, Anna began to walk away with the victory.  The Nighthawk, though having a good stroke and winning quite a few individual points along the way, couldn’t hold to Anna’s burgeoning deeper game coupled with her maturing drop shots and shorter balls.  Consistency and angles did the rest.  Though holding 3 serves in the second set due to the second set bump, Anna patiently waited, holding her own serve and nibbling away at the Nighthawk until, on her opponent’s 4th service game of the set, broke her.  Hold and another break.  2 and 3…which, if you recall, a much better score than her encounter with the #3 Nighthawk.  Games grow, Cowgirls improve.

 

So, let’s talk about the season as a whole.  The Cowgirls (and the rest of the conference) are finishing up their 6th week of season play (8th week overall).  Everyone really should be hitting their stride from the continuous play.  The Cowgirls are in a good state of tennis play for the remainder of the season and the Conference tournament. 

 

Lauren took to court 3.  Having learned a bit more about her game on Tuesday, she began with a focus on her first serve and moving well…reserving the bigger hits for a more opportune time and hitting range.  This plan was working…and then pain.  No!!!!!!  It wasn’t the ankle (Thank goodness!), but something was amiss with her arm.  Trainer was called and consulted….in short, rest will be the only option to ensure this symptoms can alleviate….simply hard to do during a tennis season.  But in the end, no game is worth exacerbating an injury further.  Lauren finished the match…salvaging her arm and another game along the way.  3-6, 1-6.

 

#4 Rachael played singularly the best overall game of tennis this season.  Her serves were solid, as too were her strokes and what a surprise of a forehand she began to unleash throughout the match.  Her movements were more fluid than in previous matches….she was utterly present throughout the match…but it wasn’t enough.  Kudos to the Lady Nighthawk for barely edging our Cowgirl.  The difference…the Nighthawk was a bit more consistent overall.  Rachael held all but two service games…one each set, earning the victory for Northern.  Such a close match, but not one for the fallacies of the players involved, rather for the strengths of the two wonderful rivals.  4-6, 4-6.

 

Betsy also had a great opponent to do battle with tonight.  Immediately vested in spirit and play, Betsy ran, hit, and ran some more.  Instead of a looping shot from her opponent, this foe hit stronger, more poignant shots allowing for a much different pace and outcome of play from yesterday’s clay match.  Both players held serve for the first 11 games of the match until Betsy finally broke on game #12 for the 1st set win 7-5.  Betsy knows how to tire them out.  Her resolve and stamina were both high which allowed Betsy to continue with her zeal for the game and ultimately the win.  7-5, 6-2.

 

Jada also followed in the footsteps of her larger hitting court…but reversed.  Dialing in her opponent in the first 3 to 4 games, Jada went on a 4 game run sealing the deal 6-2 in the first.  Then came the 2nd set bump!  Not to be outdone (initially), the Nighthawk focused her mind and shots, hitting a bit more consistent allowing the rallies to lengthen by a good margin.  Jada, having learned her lesson during the season, allowed for this bigger hitting with little fanfare, simply getting the ball back and playing up to a new level of consistency.  1 game, 2 games, 3 games, 4….each held serve for 11 straight games.  Longer points and many more deuces to boot, Jada finally broke the Nighthawk to win the second 7-5.  It was a good win for both Betsy and Jada tonight.

 

4-2 after singles, though not a win outright, positioned the Cowgirls to a more manageable path to victory. 

 

Betsy and Jada had tired out their opponents sufficiently that needed to rest.  Subs were brought in to play #3 dubs.  Conditioning matters folks…and by and large the Cowgirls call upon this often.

 

Audrey and Anna, as read above, initially lost the first encounter of these two teams.  They were determined not to follow that same path.  They came out of the gate swinging…heavy top spin and forcing the Nighthawks to the baseline to cover the bulk of the points through the first 6 games.  Though both held serves initially, the Cowgirls simply took game 5 from the Nighthawks and didn’t look back.  Though not flawless, the Cowgirls out powered, placed, and played the Nighthawks on dubs court 1 tonight.  8-2.  This reversed the outcome in their dubs last time and proved to be just the vindication they needed that last time was a random occurrence that would not be settled for again.  Yes, the Nighthawks played extremely well…the Cowgirls simply outclassed them tonight on court 1. 

 

With this win, the Cowgirls took the match with 5 wins.

 

The last two dubs were still playing.  Sadly, neither court came up with the win tonight.  Kudos to Northern’s dubs for playing a very tight match on all of the dubs courts tonight.  Court three found themselves in a hole from the get-go and battled all dubs match long to dig their way out….5 games down, they began a climb (sounds familiar) to bring it to even…alas the Nighthawks moved better than the RJR foes last night…Taking one game to every two of the Cowgirls was enough to halt the hope of a win for the Jada and Church.  6-8

 

So too for dubs #2.  The Nighthawks simply had a bit more in their tanks from the start, putting the Cowgirls on the defense.  Though Rachael and Betsy played beautifully, their opponents played a more complete game also halting the hope of the Cowgirls to take the victory.  5-8.

 

Let it be known, these two courts played exceptionally well, moved better than they have all season, serves were not a concern tonight, nether was net play…all around, neither court had any real deficiencies they could point to as the main culprit of the loss.  Simply put, the Cowgirls were outplayed tonight by a more consistent opponent.  One can hit the greatest game of their life and still lose…just like one can play like **BEEP** and still win.  Tonight, these ladies played complete game…they were simply bettered on the court.

 

Thank you for reading.  Box scores are below.  You really ought to come out and witness the Coach…er….the ladies playing.  Coach’s wife will not take kindly of you ogling him…so tall and skinny…borderline stud muffin….well, maybe he just likes muffins?!?!?!  Come, check out the action.  The ladies would love to see you!

 

Singles

Audrey Serb (SW) over Lindsay Lambis (NG) 6-0, 6-1

Anna McGinnis (SW) over Cassie Townes (NG) 6-2, 6-3

Grace Wise (NG) over a Lauren Harris (SW) 6-3, 6-1

Cate Wise (NG) over Rachael Dee (SW) 6-4, 6-4

Betsy Chen (SW) over Emma Clothier (NG) 7-5, 6-2

Jada Speight (SW) over Audrey Wrinkle (NG) 6-2, 7-5

 

Doubles

Serb/McGinnis (SW) over Lambis/Townes (NG) 8-2

G. wise/C.Wise (NG) over Dee/Chen (SW) 8-5

Megan Mascia/Banks Gdovin(NG) over Speight/Church (SW) 8-6

 

SW wins 5-4 in a tight match.

 

NG drops to 5-5. both in season and overall.

SW rises to 6-4, 9-7

 

SW hosts SEG on Monday 

 


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