Sept 7, 2023

Cowgirls over the Tiger Clan of Ragsdalia 7-2 in conference tennis action

A short heat delay tonight.  30 mins isn’t much so the ladies and Coach simply waited in the warm glow of the not so oppressive heat. 

Totally unrelated: Did you know Grimsley has one of the new shorter activity busses?  Complete with AC.  Crazy right?  We had a shorter bus…our beloved 8040.  She was nearing/over 40 yrs old with untold full odometer cycles completed when she was taken from us all too soon last year.  Though capable of AC, her system had a leak the county couldn’t find?!?!  Maybe if we all wish really hard, the dreams of the Cowgirls’ dreams can come true, and transportation can deliver a shiny new shorter bus by season end.  And if we all hold hands, we can get the courts repaired/patched, and resurfaced so they will last another 10+ years without fail. 

…well, Coach and the Ladies can always dream.  If we stop dreaming and believing, we stop truly living.

[call county now and urge them to make our small but significant dreams come true]

Ragsdale fielded a smaller team this season.  With a change of coaching and no one really in charge of the program since last year, this was to be expected.  No shade thrown.  It is harder to recruit when no one is spreading word of mouth among the students. 

Their ladies played as well as they could have tonight, even earning two wins in the process.  They were quality.  The real decider, our depth was better at most of the talent spots. 

Anna returned as number 1 against our arch nemesis and conference foe.  Just kidding.  Anna really did return, but this is tennis.  It is nice to beat Ragsdale, who happens to be in our conference.  But it is also nice to play tennis against quality and very nice opponents overall.  I do not think any BFF’s were made tonight, but a cordial match is always welcomed.

So, Anna returns to #1.  Running into trouble in the first couple of games, her opponent had a unique slappy mc slap slap (Side spin from shoulder height – not a traditional top spin with a deep kick) that could be used against a slightly higher ball.  Easing into the match, many of Anna’s balls floated high, giving the #1 Tiger opportunity.  Down 2-3, Coach motions her over.  The trick was to identify a slap (think inside out shot) vs a cross court.  Regardless, by pushing the Tiger into the high, Deuce (side) corner shot, that would leave the Tiger with only one option…Cross court or an error with the inside out.  Anna’s shots became more directed with a good many of them deeper into the corners thus negating the Tiger’s shot effectiveness.  This worked.  Anna held at 3-3 and broke her opponent twice to finish out the set.  The second set saw the Tiger’s 2^nd set bump.  The Tiger pushed into the balls more and forced a variety of shots keeping Anna back at or beyond the baseline.  Though effective for three service holds, once the energy had lessened, Anna went back to her deeper shots, pushing the Tiger around the court and ultimately taking the win.  3 and 3.

Evelyn and Rachael drew the tough matches of the evening.  Both the Cowgirls performed well earning 7 games each in their play, but in the end, were unable to overcome the more consistent shot of their opponents.  We will get them next time ladies!

Church is fine.  Coach allowed her to pursue another endeavor for this evening which allowed Evie Wesney to rejoin the top 6 for the evening.

Caroline Christman took the court at #4.  The lower half of the Tiger Line up featured newer players this evening.  Christman took little time adjusting to the shorter ball and though, overhitting a time or two, quickly found her stroke and distance in hitting allowing for a satisfactory conclusion to the match 1 and 3. 

Bella and Evie both landed very new players.  Play was quick on both of these courts with Bella blanking her Tiger and Evie only allowing 3 games in their respective victories. 

Though up 4-2 after Singles, Coach wanted to play full on courts 1 and 2 due to the Tigers’ tenacity and playing style during singles. 

Anna and Evelyn partnered up on #1.  Playing the Tiger’s 1/2, play was tight and rallies long throughout.  Both sides could return well.  Both sides had similar elements allowing for even playing.  The difference though was found in the quality and consistency of selected shots.  Serves were held and lost on both sides.  The Cowgirls were up by a break since 3 all.  If one held, both held.  If one lost, both serves were lost.  Again, a tight match.  But by the end, the Cowgirls had cleaned up their shots further, lessoning the shots into the net and off the back of the court.  This was enough to hold tight to the end and win on court 1 by the score of 8-6. 

Caroline and Bella were on court 2.  Having a late start due to Coach, these two fought well, dominating net play but still coming up short on the game court.  Down now 2-5, The Cowgirls hunkered down and ran harder…literally.  The Tigers were very adept, Especially #3, at lobbing at will – a good trait in a dubs team.  This alone kept the tigers in the points throughout.  In spite of this, due to the fast moving legs of Bella and Caroline, many of the deeper shots were salvaged from a certain Tiger point and put back into play.  This was enough to bridge that gap and draw the two teams even 6 all.  With one more hold, the Cowgirls took it to 7-6.  Now receiving at 15-all, the Cowgirls came up with a beautiful three count overheads at the net earning them the point.  15-30, 30-30.  30-40, and with a solid bout of hitting, the Cowgirls come from behind to earn the victory 9-7.

Keri McFeeley and Trinity Edwards teamed up for court 3 action.  Though their Tiger opponents were more on the new side, they held their own in dubs play.  The toughest thing about playing against a newer player is finding the right distance to the ball.  Not all the shots come to you as in more advanced hitting.  Finding their groove in the first 5 games, but still on score, the Cowgirls managed to cut off the returns and outplay the Tigers to take the next 5 games earning them a victory 8-3.  Well done, Cowgirls.

Anna McGinnis (SW) over Cameryn Wright (R) 6-3, 6-3

Ella Perez (R) over Evelyn McKnight (SW) 6-4, 6-3

Claudia Brewer (R) over Rachael Dee (SW) 7-5, 6-2

Caroline Christman (SW) over Emma Hansen (R) 6-1, 6-3

Bella Johnson (SW) over Claire Kluttz (R) 6-0, 6-0

Evie Wesney (SW) over Bailey Glasgow (R) 6-0, 6-3

McGinnis/McKnight (SW) over Perez/Wright (R) 8-6

Christman/Johnson(SW) over Brewer/Hansen (R). 9-7

Keri McFeely/Trinity Edwards (SW) over Kluttz/Alexis Gray (R) 8-2

Cowgirls rise to 6-6 overall and 2-4  in conference.  They host NW on Monday.