Skip to Main Content

Cowboys Athletics

Southwest Guilford High School

Menu

Cowboys Athletics

Southwest Guilford High School

Cowboys Athletics

Southwest Guilford High School

Game Summaries & Headlines.

Game Summary

1 year ago @ 12:39AM

Womens Varsity Tennis vs. Bishop McGuinness Catholic HS School

Game Date
Sep 13, 2022
Score
COWBOYS: 3
BISHOP MCGUINNESS CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL: 6

Cowgirls stopped by a friendly yet strong Lady Villains team from BMHS in non-conf tennis action

 

 

What does success mean?  For a runner, is it a podium’s top step or is it measured by better conditioning, or even still, is it only achieved when you lower or match your Personal Best regardless of the result overall?

 

Must success be boiled down to such a narrow interpretation?  

 

 

It is nearly impossible to play a match where all 6 singles and then 3 doubles are wholly engaged in a battle of near epic proportions…at least when it comes to Coach’s retelling of the story.  So reader, as you do that thing you do…reading, understand Coach wishes to challenge every court with an opponent of similar or better talent to supercharge the growth rate of Cowgirl tennis talent.  Unfortunately it doesn’t happen that way…though good to great play can result when the team is quality, the individuals are nice, and the culture of both teams mesh really well.

 

 

Audrey devastated tonight.  Though not feeling 100%, her presence of mind and shots was enough to literally push the Lady Villain off the court in 0 and 0.  Audrey did pay her a complement after the match during the debrief with Coach.  In short, (paraphrased) “It was nice to hit against someone who could strike the ball and get it back multiple times…I had something to hit against.”  Coming from Audrey, this is high praise.

 

Anna, now at #2, ran against a wall….with a high degree of tennis talent.  Normal walls you can climb, dig under, or lob over, but #2 for the Lady Villains was a wonderfully talented individual.  If you are a long-time reader, Anna has shots.  She moves well across the court with racquet in hand, able to life, push, slice, and is currently working on a formidable topspin to aid in her path to victory.  The Lady Villain rebuffed all of Anna’s advances.  Trying to end the points quickly, Anna pulled and pushed her opponent left and right and even shook her a bit with drop shots and lobs….nope!  The Lady Villain simply moved and hit too well.  

 

Sidebar:

So one of the things Coach has instructed the ladies on is when faced with a super tough opponent and not making headway through the first set, change the tactics and aim of the match.  It isn’t that Coach doesn’t want the ladies to win, No! He wants them to wring out what ever benefit and hitting opportunity from every opponent they face.  If the Cowgirls are better, they should force their game into a different direction/shot selection to add to their toolkit rather than simply take the win with the same ole, same ole.  When faced with opponents that are a clear step (or two) above, change tactics to focus on a slender slice of play, allowing their opponent(s) to become a highly skilled sparring partner to better hone the selected shot or two they wish to practice throughout the remainder of the match.  If simply close in talent….let the game begin.  

 

Anna opted to pursue toolkit development.  Instead of playing the normal 5-7 strokes of a point, Anna decided to elongate each point to explore it’s final destination, offering her opponent a myriad of shots.  Coach, isn’t this what Anna was trying in the first set?  No.  We don’t ever show our full toolkit, rather, only the “good shots” in our toolkit…hiding the weaker ones out of sight.  Think of your “Good side,” everyone always offers if there is a camera thrust in your direction.  In the second set, Anna was able to roll out the dessert tray of offerings…some new with wrapper still intact.  No, there wasn’t any major turn of score, rather, Anna began to extend each point…nearly doubling the shots required of the Lady Villain to take each point.  In almost every game, Anna was still in the mix taking 1-3 points int total from each game but just coming short in securing the game itself.  In addition, Anna began auditioning her toolkit shots to make them more effective in match play conditions.  She managed to focus her serves and even held once during the second set, even securing an ace.  She fed her backhands deep and even more off to the side without a real specter of loss.  The conclusion was inevitable…but the journey was rich in revelations.  Anna falls 0 and 1 but manages to have a better knowledge of playing techniques for future endeavors.

 

Lauren had about as much success as Anna.  The Lady Villain is heading to a most likely D1 basketball scholarship at a major college.  Coach signed an NDA and cannot discuss the particulars at this time.  In addition to her basketball prowess, she also plays tennis…and is good in this sport too!  Luckily, she doesn’t play darts or Bocce ball or Coach would most likely begin to lose all of the lunch money he hustles from the kids at school.  Coach gotta make gas money where because this how Coach gets paid since the county froze all coaching stipends near 10 years ago.  Well, that and actual teaching…God help us all in this profession!  KK, back to Lauren.  She ran well…though not exactly tiring, the pace of play meant Lauren had to both run and hit well.  Forehands were good when the footing was set.  Backhands too.  Serves rivaled her opponent’s serve, but the Lady Villain had better movements and deeper hitting forcing Lauren out of her comfort zone and hitting stance…all but stopping Lauren’s shots from developing and making game earning impact on her part.  Like Anna, Lauren had shots and secured points…but the game falling in her favor was just out of reach for the Cowgirl.  Lauren falls 0 and 0.

 

Rachael, coming off a good hitting performance at NW, battled hard.  She too ran afoul of the Lady Villain opponent in the first set.  After analyzing the first set with Rachael, Coach offered a few suggestions to tweak the play in the second and better develop her toolkit.  What did Coach say?  In short, extend the points.  Rachael was missing the 4-6 shot of each rally by a short physical misstep and as such, hitting follow through.  Once rectified and Rachael began to hit through each shot.  The shot count/exchanges over doubled for each point giving Rachael a better change at securing individual points.  Having only clawed 1 game from her opponent in the first set, Rachael managed to secure 3 games in total in the second, two off her own serve and less fearful play.  Though not a win in score, it was a win to Coach as Rachael is beginning to play to her potential in singles…and as the reader will find out later, in dubs too!  

 

Betsy has found her talent spot.  Coming to the Cowgirls as a sophomore, Betsy played in the JV ranks for the last two years, finally breaking into the top six this, her senior year.  Not to let an opportunity pass her by, Betsy noticed the ebb and tide of play in her opponents in the first set…but not after the first set had concluded, rather, smack dab in the middle of the 1st set.  Meaning what Coach?  Betsy sees what her opponent is doing, adjusts, adjusts, adjusts, and then begins playing a counter game that disrupts her opponent and allows for opportunity…a hidden path to victory.  If the reader recalls the Grimsley match…coming back after the 1st set to secure the win in the third.  This time, Betsy shortened the prep time required and started her climb back into the match.  Increasing her running, lifting her shots a bit higher, and of course, aiming and executing her shots better than in the first few games was enough to disrupt her opponent.  Down 2-5, Betsy played her heart out.

3-5

4-5

5-5

6-5

7-5 to take the first set.  

Yes dear reader….5 games in a  row against a tough opponent.  

Coach and Betsy both not sensing a 2nd set let down or wilting in play from the Lady Villain such as Jada initially experienced in their match against the Lady Viking from NWG yesterday, Betsy continued strong.  On serve through the first 9 games, Betsy finally broke the Lady Villain and secure the win.  Yes, Coach heart was beaming at what Betsy had discovered in herself and her play.  7-5, 6-4.  

 

Jada was out sick for today’s match.  Sad because Jada was one of the singles winners from the first time the Cowgirls hosted the Lady Villains.  As such Caroline Church, wonderful dubs partner of Jada stepped in to play singles.

 

Short of Betsy and Audrey, Church had the most success (notice what coach did there…tying back from the opening foray of this near epic tale)…if success means games won in relation to their opponents earnings.  Finding a rhythm rather fast, Church stepped back a step or two allowing the Lady Villain to hit as hard as she wanted and in doing so, allowing the ball to drop to Church’s preferred hitting range before returning it in a defined direction.  Church wasn’t grasping at return shots, rather she was playing her game from 3 foot behind the baseline…and holding her opponent back deep in the process.  Losing her serve but once in the first set was enough to give the edge to the Lady Villain…4-6.  Once more into a shot happy sequence of returns and frenzied movement and once more, a single break told the outcome of the match…final score 3-6, 4-6.  Church played great, adjusted to a much bigger hitting foe, succumbing only to the Lady Villain’s powerful winners as they pressured the Cowgirl beyond her means.  It was a great shot filled match.

 

Down 2- 4 after singles puts the Cowgirls in a near impossible valley from which they haven’t been able to climb out of against quality teams yet this season….but let’s see what happens!

 

Audrey and Anna take to Court #1 dubs.  Initially up 3-0 in game play, the Cowgirls **Squirrel** 

Wow!  What was that…and how did the score of the match change so much?  Coach is pretty sure the score was…what was the score before?  Looking down at his nametag, Coach remembers he is a highly paid educator and well compensated tennis coach.  “OK, the score must have always been 4-4,” Coach continues to muse to himself as he sits on the bench waiting for the air to return to normal after being sucked out of him by the new score revelation.

OK, 4-4.

What now Cowgirls?

5-4, 6-4, 6-5, 7-5, 8-5 to win the match.

 

Biggest Darn squirrel Coach had ever seen.

 

Rachael and Betsy to court #2 dubs…Church and Lauren to Court #3 dubs.

 

Rachael and Betsy had to play # 3 and 4 from the Villain’s lineup.  Yep, these are the ones who yielded little in their wins over Lauren and Rachael respectively.  On paper…lopsided against the Cowgirls…but isn’t this why we play?

 

Betsy Serving, strong start, up 30-love, now 30-15.    But just like that, the Lady Villains bounce back collecting 3 straight points from Cowgirl errors at the net.  Villains hold…so to the Cowgirls in their next attempt.  On serve now, but down a break through the next 6 games, the score now 4-5, the Cowgirls serving, playing well, playing a bigger game than they have previously shown in matches.  15-love.  30 love.  30-15.  40-15.  One more point to take their service game once more, an error.  Another.  Another.  Deuce.  Ad out.  They lose the game.

 

4-6

4-7

5-7

5-8 to end the set and the hopes of a trifecta of dubs mastery.

 

Though less epic than previous tight matches on paper, these two played out of their minds well.  Service games were solid (not counting the two loss of serves), net play was the best to date…lobs were developing, and shot selection was again some of the best to date.  Grimsley was a rough patch for these two…unable to really get into a rhythm.  NWG Monday night proved a turning point and tonight, even a better showing.  Let’s pray these two can parley this into a regular feature on dubs court #2.

 

Lauren and Church were into their game from the start.  On serve through the first 9 games, the Cowgirls managed to break.  Now up, they held, and broke again.  7-4 their favor, they sensed victory.  But what is that old adage, don’t count your chicken’s before the Mrs. Tweedy’s Chicken Pie has baked?  Though Coach cannot remember the saying now, he thinks the reader gets the gist.

 

Movement slowed.  Shots were forced due to footwork mismanagement and games began to ebb away, though slowly at first.  Confidence rose in the Lady Villains.  1 game reclaimed, then 2, 3, 4.   The score had fluttered away from a 3 game lead to a one game deficit at 7-8.  Too little too late.  The Cowgirls couldn’t stop the bleeding as the Lady Villains claim the last dubs court of the night.

 

3-6 the Cowgirls fall.  Though smelling a closer match, the Villains were simply a better team in play tonight.

 

The results:

 

Singles:

 

Audrey Serb(SW) over Izzy Ross (BM) 6-0, 6-0

Nina Holton (BM) over Anna McGinnis (SW) 6-0, 6-1

Adelaide Jernigan (BM) over Lauren Harris (SW) 6-0, 6-0

Sarah Pulliam (SW) over Rachael Dee (SW) 6-1, 6-3

Betsy Chen (SW) over Kate Dennen(BM) 7-5, 6-4

Lily Winters (BM) over Caroline Church (SW) 6-3, 6-4 

 

Dubs:

 

Serb/McGinnis (SW) over Ross/Holton (BM) 8-5

Jernigan/Pulliam (BM) over Dee/Chen (SW) 8-5

Dennen/Winters (BM) over Harris/Church(SW) 9-7

 

Cowgirls lose 3-6 to the lady Villains.

 

Bishop rises to 7-1 overall

 

Cowgirls fall to 7-5 overall and remain 5-3 in conf play.

 

Cowgirls travel to Page on Wednesday for a conf match 

 

 

Thank you again for reading.  Coach hopes the short list of easter eggs hidden in tonight write-up makes you smile.

 

Until he writes again….

 


https://cowboysports.org