September 19, 2016 – HPC

The greatest thing about playing Bean and the Lady Bison is that we always play so close.  The worst part about playing Bean and the Lady Bison is that we always play so close.

Kyra Akande court 1

Mai Vo Court 2

Ellen Druebbisch Court 3

Sam Hamrick Court 4

Katelyn Leinbach Court 5

Meghan Whalen Court 6

Mai was the first off the courts, blistering her opponent 6-2, 6-1.  Her deft play left little room for her opponent to gain a foothold.  Still trying to ascertain the exact time of her match, I do believe Mai is in the running for the quickest win thus far this season.

Ellen exited next with sure handling of her mini twin on Court 3.  Sedberry from HPC played almost the same game as Ellen, but clearly, Ellen played Ellen’s game better than her opponent finishing her off 3 and 1.  Sedberry fought well, but Ellen proved too much for her.

Kyra’s game a bit off today in singles, but she still managed to stay in each point, many games going to deuce.  She broke several times, but in turn was broken by the net effect of 3 more as she goes down 3 and 4. 

Katelyn….Katelyn…..What a match!  In fact, the last three matches of the singles evening we all doozies.  Katelyn up, losing a break, down, winning a break up, tied, and we head into the tiebreaker for the first set.  Up 5-3, Katelyn loses the next three dropping her to 5-6.  This is the race to 7 points. 

6-6

7-6

7-7

7-8

8-8

9-8

9-9

10-9

11-9

To her credit, Ms. Cross from HPC was a much bigger hitter than the Cowgirls’ Katelyn, and she just won the first set!!!!

Of course the 2^nd set couldn’t be easy.  Trading back and forth through the points and staying close in games, Katelyn finally edges Ms Cross on her serve and finishes out the match 7-6 (11-9), 6-4 – definitely the tightest and most complete win for Katelyn this season!

Sam on 4, Meghan on 6.  Both fought hard, but lost their first sets 4 and 3 respectively.  Clearly as a coach, never say die comes to mind, but in looking at their opponents play and knowing where the ladies are in their play currently, the window of opportunity was slim, but they managed to slip through.

Understand these two courts + Katelyn’s court were all running concurrently.  As the reader, just jump back and forth between each paragraph to get a sense of the amount of heart burn relief I must have been begging for though out the evening.  Oh yes, and all of this while we as coaches and the AD were working on getting the lights turned on.

 Sam, as spoken before, had just lost her first set 4-6.  Though she still had the fire in her eyes, to have played that well in the first and to see the effort resulting in a loss, it is a letdown.  But Sam battled back.  In a great reversal of fortune, Sam held her serves and broke her opponent winning the 2^nd 6-4.  Into the tiebreaker we go.  3^rd set – super 10 point tiebreaker. 

Up, down, sideways, and not in our favor ass Sam’s shots remained strong, but HPC’s a bit better.  HPC edging Sam 10-6 in the 3^rd.

Meghan’s journey was much the same.  Losing the 1^st set 3-6, It looked bleak.  The freshman bison’s style of play was not very conducive to Meghan’s play and it was giving her great consternation.  Dialing it in a bit better, Meghan held and took the 2^nd into a tiebreaker – and though close, Meghan triumphed 7-5.  Though taking the first two exchanges 2-1 in the 3^rd set super 10 point tiebreaker, Meghan lost ground, looking at the bottom side of 5-8.

6-8

7-8

7-9

8-9

8-10

2 points more.  Meghan continues to be quite the fighter down at number 6.

3-3 tie after singles.

In short, the Cowgirls needed to take 2 of the three singles to score the win this evening.

Mai/Ellen on court 1

Akande and freshman Gretchen Cross on Court 2

Hamrick and Whalen on Court 3

Reminding the reader about the light issue, we finally held the key to turn on the lights.  But as we turned them on, Ellen, in going for a ball, split step stopped, but her ankle didn’t get the message and rolled over on her.  Immediate swelling and the trainer was called.  In short, we had to forfeit on Court #1 dubs.  Ellen will be out for the rest of the week while she heals.  Trainer said she will be fine, just rest and anti-inflammatory meds every couple of hours.  It hurts me when one of my players gets injured as it does for all coaches and their players.  Ellen’s talents will be missed, but luckily we have Glenn and Asheboro – two talented but not as deep rosters as we have on ours.  Ellen should join back into the lineup by next week.

Hamrick and Whalen, trying them tonight on Court 3.  Though talented, there is much work to do.  Their power and placement proved too much for their opponents in the first several games. Up 5-2, the Lady Bison began to creep up.  SW began to hit the ball too hard, swinging at the net, and all in all, not playing the smartest tennis out on the courts this evening.  But dear reader, rest assured, they found their footing.  6-4, 6-5, 7-5, 8-5 to finish the match.  I was concerned too, but they worked it out, that shows me they are growing as players.  This I am proud of in their play.

Court #2.  Akande and Cross.  Cross, though just out of the top 6, has become a regular in the varsity dubs.  Her smooth shots and developing play complements many of my top hitters well and tonight was no exception.  Kyra’s serve booming a bit more frequently than in dubs and Gretchen’s competent play from the baseline, spelled trouble for the Bison.  But once more, the Bison rose their game up.  Never more than a serve away from each other, though the lead went back and forth, finally culminating at 4-5.  4-6, 5-6, 5-7, 6-7, 7-7

I was very proud here.

7-8

We can do it

7-9

And yes, a let down for both the countless fans, coach, and the cowgirls on the court, but they fought well.  In reflection during our chat out, there were only minor play changes I could comment on.  We didn’t lose because of glaring holes in our play.  We simply were bettered by a very evenly matched team.

SW loses to HPC, 4-5, in what can only be commented upon as yet another epically wonderful night of play.  The Bison do not disappoint and the Cowgirls look forward to our next play date in October.

Bailey Weston (HPC) over Kyra Akande (SW) 6-3, 6-4

Mai Vo (SW) over Anna Eskew (HPC) 6-2, 6-1

Ellen Druebbisch (SW) over Grace Sedberry (HPC) 6-3, 6-1

Brook Little (HPC) over Sam Hamrick (SW) 6-4, 4-6, 10-6

Katelyn Leinbach (SW) over Ginny Cross (HPC) 7-6 (11-9), 6-4

Alex Moore (HPC) over Meghan Whalen (SW) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 10-8

3-3

Westen/Eskew (HPC) over Vo/Druebbisch (SW) 3-2 SW Ret – Ellen Twisted Ankle

Sedberry/Little (HPC) over Akande/Gretchen Cross (SW) 9-7

Hamrick/Whalen (SW) over Moore/Anna Yarborough (HPC) 8-5

1-2

4-5 HPC edges out Cowgirls

Southwest falls 7-7 on the season and 2-3 in conference play.

Cowgirls travel to Glenn and the Lady Bobcats on Wednesday