Aug 17 @ HPC

Line-ups were announced and the Cowgirls took to the courts.

Then it began to sprinkle.  Then the sprinkles became bigger.  Warmups hadn’t even gotten underway, and we had to hold for rain slickened courts.

Not to worry!

Mike Cook came to the rescue.  Without a blower in hand, the amount of hot air that man could generate with the stories her weaves….Quite amazing!

Ha!

Clearly not dear reader.  AD Cook was there to watch his favorite child play at the Bison’s #1 position.  Cook, the Bison’s new coach Williams, the Bison’s old coach Bean (Love Bean!), and Coach stood around as the sun peeked back out from the temporary cloud cover.  This a delightful breeze and another 20 minutes and the courts were playable once more.  And for the record, Coach Loves the entire Cook Family! 

The Bison played well under the direction of their new Coach. 

It must be said the Bison’s #1 Mallory has developed into a fine hitter.  She kept pace with Anna’s (Anna McGinnis) shots all match, both in singles and in doubles.  Anna was able to put pressure on Mallory with higher shots keeping her back and as the lady Bison hit an errant shorter ball, Anna was quite to capitalize on it with a beautiful cut/back spin that fell just out of reach for the bison.  Longer rallies coupled with good serving from both sides proved why these two ladies were their team’s #1’s.  The main difference in play was Anna’s more robust tool kit of shots which helped distance the two in scoring.  To Mallory’s credit, she surged a bit in the second set, adjusting to Anna’s depth and play earning 3 games in her attempt.  Anna walks away with her first varsity win of the season 1 and 3.

It was certainly nice having the GTCC crowd back in the line-up tonight!

Young McKnight, with a growing confidence in her play and ability to keep it in after yesterday’s near first set win at Reagan, took the court with certain fury.  Tonight’s objective was to hit not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4-5 “in” shots before attempting a harder rocket from her arsenal.  Up 5-0, Coach suggested she let loose and have fun for a game or two before finishing off her opponent.  Evelyn unleashed.  No, it wasn’t as smooth and cotton and sweet as honey, but it got the job done.  Only making two shot errors in that game, Evelyn cruised to a 6-0 first set win.  Emboldened by her hitting success, young McKnight proved too much for the lady Bison in the remaining set taking her crosscourt and deep.  Yes, these two will only get better.

Rachael, world traveler, GTCC student, and of course a Cowgirl in real life, rejoined the team after a week long hiatus.  Eager to get back into the action, her one goal tonight was simply work on spin.  Depth, sure.  Power, if she could, but a consistent spin to take her opponent from right to left, emphasizing off center, consistent shots.  It worked.  Dee’s serves kept her opponent back and coupled with her shots, delivered a 1, 2 blow that the lady Bison had a hard time adjusting to in match play.  Kudos to the Bison for the games she was able to earn off of Rachael tonight.  Rachael takes the win 2 and 1.

Church had to adjust to a slightly higher ball than in play v Reagan yesterday morning.  And that is exactly what she did.  Trading serves the first two games, Caroline was able to take the rest of the first set and in fact, the second set as well without dropping another.  The key was Caroline’s footwork.  She moved better and put herself in the right spot to hit her shots.  The Lady Bison rallied but Caroline’s consistency won out in the end.  1 and 0.

Evie Wesney, after a good second set in yesterday’s Reagan match, jumped out to an early lead in the first set.  The Lady Bison rallied back gaining 2 games in the first set and in doing so, put Evie on the slight defensive during a few of the points.  This additional depth and height of shot caused Evie to hit a few errant shots due to a disadvantageous hit.  To her credit, young Wesney adjusted, stepped back, and was able to hit her shots.  Coach smiled.  Wesney wins 2 and 0.

Elena Perko Rock Paper Scissors her way into #6 tonight.  Seriously.  Bella Johnson and Perko RPS’ed for the right to play singles.  2 out of 3.  Perko had nerves of steel and won this contest.

So…..Perko took to court 6 facing off against a young and slightly less experienced player.  Perko’s challenge: not just hit back down the middle,  but take her opponent to the sides where at all possible.  Perko’s bigger hitting by comparison and ability to keep the ball in the court was more than enough to take the final single’s match of the evening.  Do not worry reader…Perko will be challenged more so as her season progresses. 

Dubs.

SW takes the match in singles.  6-0.

But having the GTCC monopolize nearly half of my squad during the first two matches of the season, Coach left the top 4 in as number 1 and 2 doubles respectively to test the waters on the new doubles arrangement.

The McTwins – McGinnis and McKnight (Alternative names are being considered.  Email/Text Coach your suggestions.  Coach will mull them around and see what sticks!) took to the courts at #1 dubs.  Seniors Dee and Church at #2 dubs.

Though close at first, the McTwins honed in on Ms Turner of the Bison and directly there attention and shots towards her.  In short, Mallory was more than able to handle a bigger and faster ball.  Turner was simply less consistent in her efforts.  Do not think this malicious of the McTwins.  Simply put, target the weaker of the two players in dubs.  You will earn more points this way. 

The McTwins break serve by the 3^rd exchange.  Hitting a solid game throughout, they pushed their game of the Bison who had trouble with the angles, depth and speed of shot prevailing 8-2 by the end.

Seniors Dee and Church also were able to heavily influence their match with length and consistency of shots.  Not allowing the Bison to catch their breath, they cruise to a 8-0 victory.

Dubs court #3 featured Bella Johnson and Trinity Edwards.  Though serves were still a work in progress, these two Cowgirls kept the ball in play and away from their opponents’ strengths eventually taking the 8-1 win.

Cowgirls cruise to a 9-0 victory tonight. 

To close, do not think the Cowgirls are all that and a bag of chips with the GTCC crowd back in the line-up.  SW was simply deeper in talent across the top 6 against the Bison.  We encounter Page on Monday (Away).  They will most likely be a +1/+2 to our ladies across the board.  Though wins are nice, win or lose, each of the ladies set a goal for that day of play. The object then is to meet or surpass the goal at hand.  For today, it was consistency – simply keeping it in and in doing so, begin to push your angles to the other side.  We did this.  Coach was happy.  On Monday, we will have new goals.  Let’s see how far we can make it in achieving those!

Anna McGinnis (SW) over Mallory Cook (HPC) 6-1, 6-3

Evelyn McKnight (SW) over Jilliann Turner (HPC) 6-0, 6-0

Rachael Dee (SW) over Reagan Bonsall (HPC) 6-2, 6-1

Caroline Church (SW) over Hannah Sutherby (HPC) 6-1, 6-0

Evie Wesney (SW) over Raegan Hagerman (HPC) 6-2, 6-0

Elena Perko (SW) over Patame (Patty) Be (HPC)  6-0, 6-0

Dubs

McGinnis/McKnight (SW) over Cook/Turner (HPC) 8-2

Dee/Church (SW) over Bonsall/Sutherby(HPC) 8-0

Bella Johnson/Trinity Edwards (SW) over Hadassa Evans/Teresa De La Riva (HPC) 8-1

Cowgirls rise to 1-2 in nonconference action and will begin conference dual team matches on Monday.