Aug 15, 2018

SW Cowgirls over the Lady Bulldogs of Trinity in non-conference tennis action

9-0

Though a bit warm on the courts and playing an adjusted line-up, the Cowgirls had little trouble tonight overcoming the forces of the Lady Bulldogs of Trinity.

I open with this statement, though the scores seem a bit lopsided rest assured the Lady Bulldogs did give chase and evened up many of the games at deuce before falling behind in the ads.

Lanie Van Dorp and Gretchen Cross played excellent tennis tonight with both exiting the courts at 10-1 each.  Both of their opponents did hit a different, higher ball, rising too high for powerful returns, and thus, both Cowgirls had to rely on consistency and patience.

Christina Alentino, Freshman, debuted her game tonight v the Lady Bulldogs.  Christina was able to overcome her opponent with placement and power, throwing off her opponent and forcing her into non-ideal shots thus giving Christina the victory.  [Coach smiles when a freshman begins with such a bag full of shots and potential]

[still smiling]

Meghan Whalen (court 1) faced off against an opponent whose hits were higher than she liked, rallied longer than she liked, and placed the ball pretty darn well to boot.  During practice I share with the ladies that every player has a number.  This number isn’t a ranking, rather, it is the average times that person can consistently get the ball back.  Beginners start near 1-3.  Certain power hitters can only rally for 3-5 with good pace.  More mature players can hit their speed back 10/20+ times.  Clearly, the higher the number, the less frustrated you as a player get with you encounter someone who loves the consistency game.  Meghan found one of those players tonight.  Her opponent was a 7…meaning she could consistently get the ball back 7 or more times before her shots fell off.  On top of this, her opponent hit a loopy shot, one that would rise out of Meghan’s power band and force Meghan into a consistency game.  Let’s be honest…Meghan was not amused, but she adapted and overcame.  Dropping the first game on her opponent’s serve, Meghan quickly sized her opponent up, changed her game tactics, and beat her opponent at her own game.  Raising her own shots, playing deep, pulling her in and then lobbing over her, Meghan broke her several times in her 10-2 victory.  Yes, Meghan learned a valuable lesson tonight.

Lydia Specht and Holly Galvin split up after last night’s dubs victory v SE into singles and both came away winners.  Again, their opponents hit higher than normal forcing the Cowgirls to adapt and overcome.  Though it took the Cowgirls a bit more time due to longer rallies, both Cowgirls posted wins with little fanfare.

Cowgirls took the match 6-0 after singles, but I like to play out the dubs regardless.

Trinity #1 dubs had just taken out HPC’s #1 dubs last night, so I was anxious to pit my #1 dubs against the Lady Bulldogs to compare their two games.  It wasn’t a contest.  Hitting much lower than in their singles matches, the Cowgirls began taking the ball a bit earlier, hitting solid and sure cross-courts, totally flummoxing the Lady Bulldogs and not allowing them to gain any traction in games.  Though several games went to deuce, the Cowgirls were able to settle down and take all the breaks save 1.  Lady Bulldogs were a quality opponent on court 1, but just ran against a tough opponent in the Cowgirls.

Lauren Cook/Alethea Yu teamed up once more and played another competent game together.  Once more, little fanfare, good cross court shots, net play, and dependable serving made the difference.

Back in the line up, Crowd Favorites Abby Lowe and Johaina Apolinario took court 3 8-2.  The team meshed nicely with the bigger groundstrokes from Abby and the running ability of Johaina in chasing down the opponent’s shots. 

Cowgirls sweep dubs once more and take the match 9-0

Cowgirls travel to HPC Thursday for the last of our matches this week.

Singles

Meghan Whalen (SW) over Anna Kate Patterson (T) 10-2

Christina Alentino (SW) over Lauren Elam (T) 10-3

Gretchen Cross (SW) over Alison Hunt (T) 10-1

Lanie Van Dorp (SW) over Jessica Bryant (T) 10-1

Lydia Specht (SW) over Leah Mathai (T) 10-0

Holly Galvin (SW) over Maggie Anthony (T) 10-1

6-0 singles -> Cowgirls

Dubs:

Whalen Cross (SW) over Patterson/Elam (T) 8-1

Lauren Cook/Alethea Yu (SW) over Hunt/Anthony (T) 8-1

Abby Lowe/Johaina Apolinario (SW) over Daniella Mendoza/Sophia Zheng (T) 8-2

3-0 Dubs -> Cowgirls

9-0 victory Cowgirls over the Lady Bulldogs

Cowgirls rise to 3-0 on the season (all non conf)

Lady Bulldogs fall to 0-2 in non-conf play