Aug 14, 2023

Cowgirls @ Mt Tabor

It was hot…and early.  Leaving the parking lot around 7:30 this morning, it was comforting that the entire fleet of GCS activity buses were air conditioned.

Oh Wait!

No, they are not.

Well Goober! 

So sweating is considered part of the warmup until late September and October weather cools off for the Cowboys/Cowgirls.  Elana, we may need to do a WBT test on an activity buss to see if it adheres to the County’s guidelines.

Just as a note, the Tennis Cowgirls tied the gate receipts of both football and Basketball for last Friday nights paid receipts….though it could be simply that both the Football and Basketball teams didn’t play last Friday.  No bother, the Tennis Cowgirls are in select company concerning revenue.

Though the Spartan’s relative strength was down, so too were the Cowgirls.  Missing 6 from our line-up due to GTCC classes beginning today did little to replenish the ranks of the top 6.

Cowgirls #1,3,7, and 8 all had class.  Lucky for us, our current 7 was able to follow GPS and arrive in time for doubles.  More of this below.

So…2 to 1, 4 to 2, 5 and 6 to 3 and 4 respectively.  #11 to 5 and a newbie to #6. 

Yep, it ended the way you think.

In short, the Cowgirls lost 1-8…with a few notable performances.

Dear Reader, do not cast judgement on GTCC for edumacating* a new flock of willing students this year and taking them away from the beloved game of tennis, No!  Rejoice for those were able to play in spite of GTCC gutting (Both today and on Wednesday when we travel to Reagan) our top six and chance at winning. 

I digress.  Truth be told, those that played all walked away with one more facet to a growing tool kit of playable situations.

Freshy Evelyn McKnight (you will be hearing much about this spunky one in the years to come) did battle against a very consistent wall.  Think Wizard of Oz.  The destination of the emerald city is a lovely picture, but without the journey, the entire movie would be rather short. Evelyn learned the value of patience in play.  And as we all know, patience isn’t embraced in one fell swoop, rather, today was the first installment of multi season/episodic journey she will be on all through the season if not longer.  Hits were big, hits were out.  Frustration mounted, learning begins today padiwan. 

Caroline Church, just outside the top 6 last season and ½ of the dubs team that dethroned the number 1 dubs team from Western in Conference Tourney Action LY, fought well, but her opponent liked high flying (not quite) moon balls which is not a strength of Ms Church.  Fighting well and directing her shots where she could, Caroline fell 2 and 4 to a consistent high ball hitter.

New to the top 6, Caroline Christman.  Little Christman also fought well.  She showed excellent composure in the heat and stamina with the length of play. Her forehand cross court when she could move deeper into the court will be a valuable asset as time and play allows her shot development.  Once more Consistency became our enemy.  Though falling 2 and 3, Coach was able to catch a glimpse of Caroline’s potential this and next season.

Evie Wesney was able to, down 3-4, come back with a break to even it up at 5 all.  Holding serve on both sides of the net forced a tiebreaker.  Though unable to hold the tiebreaker, Little Wesney played a solid game.  The heat and stamina took its toll of the young Cowgirl the deeper in the 2^nd set it went.  Consistency and footwork in the face of a blazing sun.

Riley Robinso.  Though in many of the points played on court 5, Riley was at a slight disadvantage from a more consistent and higher ball hitting opponent.  Unable to settle the ball and bring it back down into her hitting range, Riley fell 1 and 2.  As a extra tidbit, Riley was able to extend out many of the points played raising her consistency in spite of the higher balls.  Way to go Riley!

Bindu Bachupalli, new to the team, new to the top six.  Oh reader, if you could have seen the joy (shock and terror) when I formally announced Bindu would be playing in the top 6…priceless.  Luckily the Lady Spartans were as sweet at honey and very gracious to our new Cowgirl.  Bindu battled to earn 4 games in total and learned a better appreciation of the game play shot variety that came across the net. 

Dubs.

McKnight and Christman tried their hand at number one.  Consistency.  Again, like patience, this takes time.  They both were spirited in their play and showed great chemistry for opportunities ahead.

Wesney and Robinson all but secured a victory falling 6-8.  In short, a break in serve determined the outcome on court 3.  Fearless at the net and grounded in their baseline, it was a good match to watch.

Perko, one of those GTCC students, came back in time to play dubs.  Pairing her with Church, they held strong.  Perko provided the strength at the net while Church held court on the baseline lifting the ball back many times to the consternation of the Lady Spartans.  Mentally sound and shots hitting their mark, 8-6 victory for these two Cowgirls.

In short, not having our 1 and 3 did the Cowgirls little favor in making a push to victory today.  But Coach is ok.  I know that was the first thing you thought of while reading this write-up.  Coach is OK.

Maybe if I write it enough it will be true.

Hahahahahahahahah.  You needn’t worry about Coach or the Cowgirls.  The season is young and Coach is remarkably confident.  Our #1 and 3 players will join us once by Thursday when we take care of business against HPC and we will chalk up a few victories before this season is over. 

Thanks for reading!

*yes, on purpose.  If the three “R”’s** worked for the last 100 years, I can be creative in my spelling too.

** The three Rs are three basic skills taught in schools: reading, writing and arithmetic (usually said as "reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic"). The phrase appears to have been coined at the beginning of the 19th century.  – Wikipedia

Works Cited

“The Three Rs.” Wikipedia, 17 May 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_three_Rs#:~:text=The%20three%20Rs%20are%20three,beginning%20of%20the%2019th%20century.