Cowgirls over Cornerstone Academy 7-2 in non- conference Women’s tennis

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the first edition of the Cowboy Times featuring the exploits and adventures of the women’s tennis team.  Tonight, the Cowgirls hosted cornerstone Academy.  Though traditionally not a powerhouse in athletic endeavors, Cornerstone Academy offers proximity and heart of those who take up the mantle of athlete.  Tonight proved that well.

Understanding the Cowgirls relative strength, coach decided to play the top 3, jump two spots, and let seeds 5-8 play singles tonight.  if you are a frequent reader of the cowboy times featuring the Cowgirls women’s tennis team, you know Coach likes to reach playing parity in tennis action so as to force the Cowgirls to grow as a player instead of winning a lopsided battle.   No, not a perfect system, but a few of the newer Cowgirls got the chance to play and play up against stronger opponents.

Audrey Serb began her match and just as quickly, ended her match.  Ladies and gentlemen, this season’s quickest match benchmark now stands at 22 mins for a pro-8.  Though the opponent had a nice game, audrey simply overwhelmed her and force each point to its quick conclusion.

Anna McGinnis did the same.  Though the rallies were longer, Anna’s movement and approach cross court shots had the lady Cardinal on the ropes from shot one.

Lauren Harris had to retire from the match due to a lingering injury.  We hope to have back in full form in the next few.

Skipping over Rachael Dee and Betsy Chen for singles….Coach had dubs in mind for these two.  More to come in the writing below.

Jada Speight had a stellar game tonight. New to the Cowgirls, the sophomore won 8-0 over the lady Cardinal.  Though challenged from the baseline on a few of the points, Jada was able to recognize shorter returns across the net, move up to them, and force the lady cardinal to run down the cross-court approach shots.  Though not all of Jada’s shots found their mark, enough did with good consistency to cause great strife on the opposite side and deliver her first varsity win as a Cowgirl!  

Caroline Church struggled from the match onset.  Befuddled at first by the inconsistent nature of the balls from her opponent, Caroline had to hustle to track down the short ones forcing her to overhit a good too many times.  Regaining her footing and rhythm, Caroline was able to find a balance of returns across the net and then matched her opponent’s play.  Though never forcing her game on the Lady Cardinal, Caroline was able to find her own game within the wonky balls served up to her and prevail 8-6 in a tight match.

Tamara Davis, senior, have a relatively easy time in her match.  Losing serve only once and her opponent only holding serve once, Davis was able to hit her shots and outlast the Lady Cardinal with a score of 8-2.

So let’s count….1, 2, 3, 4, 5…..5 matches.  All it takes is 5 matches to win the match….and the Cowgirls did so thus winning the match in singles.

But Coach!  Aren’t Dubs played in a regular match? 

Great question Cowboy Nation…the answer is yes.  So let’s keep reading.

Dubs.

Holding out Rachael Dee and Betsy Chen from singles play, Coach played these two together as #1 dubs.  Though not new to top 6 play, Dee and Chen have earned their spot this season so you will see a lot more of them in future Cowboy Times coverage.  In short, the Cowgirls played well.  Moving together, holding the net and forcing errors from an uptick in aggressive play, Dee and Chen easily won 8-1 at #1 dubs.

Elena Perko and Evie Wesney teamed up for #2 dubs action.  Perko, a freshly minted tennis sophomore, and Wesney, Sophomore returner to the team, battled hard.  Down as much as 1-4 from a few games of service errors and non-cohesive play exacerbated by a strong opponent, the Cowgirls were able to draw it close and tie the match at 6-6 before losing the last two games to a very competitive opponent.  Bittersweet for the first timer and returner?  Not really.  Coach simply brought the Cowgirls over and dissected the game together.  Three items of note surfaced as learning objectives:  #1 – get the serves in.  Truly this was a trouble spot for the Cowgirls.  #2 – Stepping back when faced with a harder hitting opponent.  The Cowgirls simply stood their ground…though noble, is silly when trying to return a well-placed shot.  #3 - Cross-Court shots looked more like slightly off-center shots.  By not standing back a bit, shots were forced, direction suffered, power was lost….shots became ineffective.  The Lady Cardinals simply took advantage of the Cowgirl play and prevailed.  Saddened?  In part, but the darkness of this loss will lift in the coming weeks as the Cowgirls further develop their play.  We are developing the future aren’t we?

And at #3 dubs, Caroline Christman and Riley Roberson.  Christman was strong.  Her forehand and backhand shots, though not always in, had pace enough to scoot the opponents back from the net.  Riley played masterfully with short returns and strong net play forcing their opponents to either hit around or over her….and with Christman one with the baseline….many rallies ensued. 

Though close in score, clearly the Cowgirls had the edge, pushing their opponents to 5-3 before one of the Lady Cardinals had to retire from the match.  Young, yes.  Inexperienced, yes.  But clearly, solid play from both. 

Dubs conclude with the Cowgirls edging the Lady Cardinals 2-1 and 7-2 overall.

Cowboys notch their first win and go 1-0 overall after tonight

Cornerstone begins their season 0-1

Cowgirls host the lady Bison of HPC Thursday 7pm

Ind match scores:

Audrey Serb (SW) over Jennifer Pearlman (CA) 8-0

Katie Wright (CA) over Lauren Harris (SW) 4-2 retire

Anna McGinnis (SW) over Patricia Shaw (CA) 8-0

Jada Speight (SW) over Ava Cooper (CA)  8-0

Caroline Church (SW) over Ilana Brooks (CA) 8-6

Tamara Davis (SW) over Emilie Choiniere (CA) 8-2