Aug 21, 2023

Cowgirls @ Page in conference W tennis action

Bus almost running out of gas, check.

Heat delay, check.

At least we had snacks to occupy our time until the heat subsided.

Page is deep.  They graduate 10 seniors this year.  SW has 15 total players.

No, we didn’t win.  What we did do was hit most of our goals going into the match today.

So….For the next court specific mini write-ups…end them all with, “and the lady Pirate proved too much for the Cowgirl.”

Anna McGinnis pulled Page #1, state runner up in dubs.  She is a 7+ UTR.  Even Audrey couldn’t handle her play last season.  Anna moved and hit well.  Anjali simply hit better.  The Cowgirl was able to draw close in a few of the games and nearly held serve once.  Overall Anna moved with anticipation and kept the rallies going.

Evelyn faced off with another freshy on court 2. A bigger hitting ad more consistent opponent that liked to yell, “Juan”, “Won”, “One”, “Wand”, “Wan”.  We are quite sure.  But the Pirate was quite excited when either she hit a good shot or Evelyn errored.  Coach isn’t quite sure what that was about, but I guess we all have our idiosyncrasies.  Evelyn, against a bigger hitter, hit one her finest games thus far.  Her first serve kept her opponent back.  Her forehands rivaled her opponent.  The lady pirate simply landed more shots with the potential to land more.  Evelyn continues to find her topspin and proved tonight her two handed backhand continues to come around.

Rachael hit one of her best games.  Her running was, by far, the best Coach had seen from her efforts all through her playing career.    Her opponent had more spin, speed, and angles.  She was in most games and took more than 5 to deuce.  She played well tonight.

Church also played a very good game.  Three different games her opponent tried out against Caroline with no one really making great strides in the Pirates scoring.  Caroline saw and reacted well to the ball and made her opponent play her out.  She too had multiple deuces converting 2 in her singles match. 

Christman found a big hitter on court 5 with a serve that Caroline had ever seen before.   Backing up in her receiving saw little light at the end of the tunnel.  Forced to play out her service games near flawless was a bit much for the junior.  Once she returned it back, she was able to maintain consistent rallies of 4-5 balls.  She is growing as a player.  Coach is content for now.

Bella Johnson took to court 6.  Playing once of the best games of her high school career as well by moving all over the court and keeping the ball in play.  From 1 game in the first to 3 games in the second, Bella was able figure out her opponent a bit better and anticipate better still.  Lengthening her game proved effective in drawing out the rallies and giving Bella flashes of hope throughout the second set.

Dubs saw a change to the Pirates line – up.  Having won the match in singles, Anjali sat out allowing their 2/3 to partner up on court one.  Hogwood (their Coach) also allowed some of the ten seniors to play in lieu of the other top 6. 

Wilkerson/Cox were good on court one.  Adjusting throughout the match, McGinnis/McKnight kept shooting for quality crosscourts and keeping it away from their opponents.  But the Pirates were taking advantage of every weak shot delivered back.  Pulling close in a few of the games was all dubs court 1 could manage. 

Dee/Church played a great dubs game tonight.  Holding tight and on serve through the first 9 games of the match, Dee and Church excelled in their lobs and cross court shots.  Clearly the goal was to keep it away from the tall one.  Unfortunately, both of their opponents were tall tonight.  Good net with great looks and some contact on poaching attempts.  5-8.

Elena Perko and Evie Wesney took on court 3.  Footwork looked better tonight than in matches past.  Pressed hard, Wesney and Perko both raised their games.  Shots were lifted above the net player and deeper into the court.  Cross courts were crisper.  Serves were not too shabby wither.  These two Cowgirls fought well.

Not to blow smoke in any nether regions, the Cowgirls tonight walked away with their heads held high.  I all, the Cowgirls earned more games tonight than they did last season v Page.  No, Coach doesn’t expect a sharp turn and capitulation in the match score for next time, but he does expect a continued improvement of the play he saw tonight from all of the Cowgirls. 

Anjali Tahini (P) over Anna McGinnis (SW) - 6-0, 6-0

Sophie Wilkerson (P) over Evelyn McKnight (SW) – 6-3, 6-0

Mary Cox (P) over Rachel Dee (SW) – 6-1, 6-0

Maddie Herrick (P) over Caroline Church (SW) – 6-0, 6-2

Missima Nkembe (P) over Caroline Christman (SW) – 6-0, 6-1

Maggie Hu (P) over Bella Johnson (SW) – 6-1, 6-3

Wilkerson/Cox (P) over McGinnis/McKnight (SW) 8-0

Kaitlyn Medley/Sullivan Edmunds (P) over Dee/Church (SW) 8-5

Sutton Sharpill/Emma Pyrtle (P) over Evie Wesney/Elena Perko (SW) 8-1

Page takes the match 8-0

Page goes to 1-0 on the season

SW drops to 1-3 overall, 0-1 in conference

SW travels to Western Guilford on Wednesday for another conf match