The score would indicate Gilroy High’s girls tennis team rolled
over Alisal Thursday by winning five out of seven matches. But the
host Trojans gave GHS a tougher fight than Mustangs coach Jami
Reynolds would have preferred.
GILROY – The score would indicate Gilroy High’s girls tennis team rolled over Alisal Thursday by winning five out of seven matches. But the host Trojans gave GHS a tougher fight than Mustangs coach Jami Reynolds would have preferred.
“We won 5-2, but the games were way to close for my comfort,” Reynolds said.
Three matches went to a third-set tiebreaker, with Gilroy losing two out of three.
No. 1 and No. 2 Mustangs Meha Munshi and Emily Castro both lost their tiebreakers 8-10.
“Meha won the first set with confidence and had a 5-2 lead in the second set, [but] couldn’t close it out,” Reynolds said.
“Emily also came out on fire but still lost the first set. [She] came back to win the second.”
In the end, the third-set tiebreaker was too much to overcome.
Meanwhile, Gilroy’s No. 2 doubles partners Melanie Morelos and Ashley Nguyen pulled out their tiebreaker 10-6.
“[Nguyen] is Melanie’s third partner this year and it shows Melanie’s spirit to win no matter (what),” Reynolds said. “She plays to win or as she says, she ‘hates to lose.’
“They struggled in the fist set, figuring out each other and how to play together, but they got it together by the second set and third-set tiebreaker.”
No. 3 and No. 4 players Monica Liu and Alissa Castro both won their matches, 7-6, 6-2 and 7-6, 7-6, respectively.
“Monica was having trouble with her serve so she served underhand and did whatever she needed to do to win,” Reynolds said. “It was a great example of her maturing out there on the tennis court.
“Alissa Castro also played a difficult opponent who just dinked the ball over and over. … Alissa showed us all her true competitiveness. … I have been waiting to see (that) since last year.”
Holly Hunter and Kim Johnson “scared” Reynolds in the first set by backing up to the baseline and playing mostly passive, but the pair pulled out it out 7-5. The two started attacking the net in the second set to win 6-1.
Gilroy’s No. 3 doubles partners Cristina Carrillo and Viviana Mendez, two players Reynolds said have drastically improved in the last month, won their match 6-2, 6-3.
The Mustangs will be back on the court today at 4 p.m. in Gilroy when they host San Benito.
