Mustangs fall 6-1 despite four three-set matches
Gilroy – This one could have gone either way, even if the final score showed North Salinas beating Gilroy 6-1 in girls’ tennis Tuesday at the Mustangs’ courts.
After all, four of the matches went three sets. The telling statistic there is that the Vikings (6-4 overall, 3-3 in Tri-County Athletic League) won three of the four matches, which ultimately proved to be the difference.
“I have competitive kids,” North Salinas coach Dennis Stacy said, “but either team could have won this match.”
Even two of the two-setters were competitive. GHS No. 2 singles player Emily Castro had a 5-4 lead in the first set and a 2-1 lead in the second set. But Jennie Nguyen prevailed 7-5, 6-4. GHS No. 1 player Amy Kuang was even with Laura Sanchez 4-4 in the first set of a battle of juniors who had split matches last year. Sanchez, however, was steadier from the baseline and was able to get to more balls, winning 6-4, 6-3.
The Mustangs’ Gories Kwong defeated Roxanne Usi 6-2, 0-6, 10-6 for her second win of the season at No. 3 singles.
“In the second set, I was tired and out of breath,” said Kwong. “In the third set, I told myself I can do it. There were shorter rallies and I was hitting more winners. I’m happy with my improvement since I went winless last year.”
The No. 4 singles was another three-setter, with Claudia Sanchez holding off Gilroy’s Alissa Castro 6-0, 4-6, 10-1.
The only non-competitive match of the day was at No. 1 doubles, where the Vikings’ duo of April Valdez and Audrey Sanchez beat Holly Hunter and Karissa Toews 6-1, 6-2.
At No. 2 doubles, GHS players Annalisa Zelina and Natalie Toews rallied from a 6-0 first-set loss to win the second set 7-6 before the North Salinas duo of Danielle Gutierrez and Jenny Tiji prevailed in the third set 10-8.
At No. 3 doubles, Vikings Diana Blackwell and Jessica DeLuna won in straight sets over Kim Johnson and Sidney Ebert 6-3, 6-4.
“Almost all the matches were close,” GHS coach Randy Barbaglia said. “As a coach, you never want to lose. I was satisfied with the way the girls played. They played hard.
“There are different strategies the girls need to pick up and that comes with playing.”
The Mustangs (1-4 overall, 1-3 TCAL) will be tested in their next match at 3:30pm Thursday when powerful Salinas comes to Gilroy.
