Sept 18, 2023

The weather could not have been any better for tonight.  It is beginning to feel like fall.  The lady hornets had improved, which was evident by their warm-ups.  Still, Coach played an adjusted lineup to offer a change up for the Lady hornets and to allow the cowgirls to play up for a challenge.

If you remember, the last match we played at Western Guilford, court one was a great match.  Anna lost the first set, but after referencing Coach, was able to come back in the second set and take the third super tiebreaker winning the match.  Though secretly hoping for a long, epic match tonight, Anna had other plans.  Though starting out down 1 – 2 in both sets, Anna was able to craft her game, get behind the ball and return most of what Nadia was dishing out.  Clearly, Nadia had been practicing. Nadia’s stroke was bigger, especially in the second set.  Anna played her consistent game, returning deep, returning higher, and taking both sets to the score of 6-2, 6-2.  The spin, depth and higher ball did their trick tonight and earned her another win off a quality opponent.

Court 2 featured the hitting exploits of Evelyn.  The first time Evelyn had been cursed by the evil witch from the deep, dark forest and had to retire before the first set was finished.  Apparently tonight Evelyn had given wide berth around the Candy Cottage in the woods upon traveling to school and as such, didn’t draw the ire of the evil witch these last few weeks.  This spelled good fortune for Both Evelyn and the Cowgirls as a whole.  As for play on the courts, the Lady Hornet #2 was sptitfire of a player and ran her legs off tonight, but it was the spin and depth of Evelyn’s shots which distanced her from her opponent.  Smarter, more consistent shots.  Who knew?

Rachael, playing on court 3, found her game early on, cruising to a 6-0 lead in the first set.  She did so by hitting her deeper spin shots and keeping her opponent at bay.  Not to be outdone, the Lady Hornet had a resurgence in the 2^nd set, though not enough to faze Rachael.  Breaking Rachael in the opening games of the second set, Rachael was patient and simply kept the pressure up knowing her game would prevail.  Down 2-3, Rachael held and then broke her opponent’s serve.  Though trading serves once more, Rachael was able to keep her game in check and chalk up another victory for herself and the Cowgirls. 

Christman moved up tonight since Church was only scheduled for dubs later ion the evening.  Easily handing her opponent in the first (6-1), this Lady Hornet also saw a 2^nd set pop in her play.  Finally easing into her game, the Lady Hornet began challenging Christman ion her shots.  Christman, though able to keep pace, had been lulled into a false sense of security during the first set.  To her credit, Caroline shook herself out of her slumber and was able to deal with the surging opponent by closing her out 6-3 in the second. 

Rounding out the top six tonight were Evie Wesney and Elena Perko.  Though these two normally play dubs together, Coach wanted them to stretch their legs and get some more singles practice.  Though playing fairly new players, these two Cowgirls exemplified grace and kindness with their opponents.  Hitting a strong ball, the Cowgirls made quick work while still investing in their opponents through good sportsmanship.  Thank you Ladies.

Dubs:

As discussed last write up, Coach wanted to swap-a-roo the dubs pairings to see if other magic could happen.  Unable to fully implement this against HPC last week, the experiment continues.

Anna and Church partners at #1.  Evelyn with new partner Bella at 2.  And with Rachael taking leave of the team after singles for a college night?!?!  Something about academics and future plans?!?!  Keri McFeely and Trinity Edwards stepped up for court 3.

Court 3.  Keri and Trinity did well tonight.  In Coach’s recollection, the best non-over hitting game these two have played to date.  Keri and Trinity are strong hitters respectively.  But tonight showed they could finesse the ball, keep in in play and out of the hands/rackets of their opponents.  8-2.

Court 2.  A new dynamic with Evelyn and Bella.  Coach imagined Bell would be the one in the foreground getting to the net shots while Evelyn’s strong base line play would provide the needed backstop should anything get past…but tonight, it was a happy mix.  Playing the Lady Hornets 2/4, the Cowgirls did great at keeping their shots smart on returns and cross courts.  Though a few were guided by unseen hands (stupid evil witch on the dark woods) back to their opponent at the net, most shots found deeper pastures to land in.  Once more, Western’s #2 ran down everything she could.  This was to her credit and kept the Lady Hornets in many points the Cowgirls thought their had secured through directed shots down the middle and behind the net player.  But in the end, Bella and Evelyn’s wave was too great to escape from and the Cowgirls take dubs court 2 8-1. 

Court 1.  Church and Anna faced off against the Lady Hornets 1 and 3.  Nadia (WG#1) was on a mission.  Finding her game early on, Nadia’s shots were big, fast, and well placed.  Luckily for the Cowgirls, they had directed most of their shots towards the #3.  This gave them the advantage and allowed them to stave off multiple assaults from Nadia. Nadia is a talented player and did her best for her team.  But in the end, the Cowgirls kept the ball in play more often and by hitting smarter, not harder shots, were able to stop the Lady Hornets before they secured too many points in a row.  Cowgirls win 8-2.

Do not let the scores fool you as a reader.  The play was lively and focused.  The Cowgirls simply edged the Lady Hornets in more rallies.  Kudos to the Lady Hornets’ improvement and good luck to them in the rest of the season.

Singles:

Anna McGinnis (SW) over Nadia Ghergie (WG) 6–2, 6–2.

Evelyn McKnight (SW) over Josslyn Hizer (WG) 6–2, 6–3

Rachael D (SW) over the Diodore' Lopez (WG) 6–0, 6–3

Caroline Christman (SW) over Lacey, Houlden (WG) 6–1, 6–3 

Evie Wesney(SW) over Tina Rcom-Nie (WG) 6–0, 6–1

Elena Perko(SW) over Hannah Hedima (WG) 6–0, 6–1

Doubles:

McGinnis/Caroline Church (SW) over Ghergie/Lopez (WG) 8-2

McKnight/Bella Johnson (SW) over Hizer/Houlden (WG) 8–1

Keri McFeeley/Trinity Edwards (SW) over Rcom-Nie/Hedima(WG) 8–2

There was a vast improvement by all the lady hornets from the first time that we played. Kudos to their hustle on the court. The Cowgirls rise to 8–8 in the season and 3–6 in conference play.

The Cowgirls will travel to Northern Guilford to face off against the lady nighthawks on Wednesday.