The improvement was evident Thursday for Gilroy but the final
score was the same.
Gilroy ? The improvement was evident Thursday for Gilroy but the final score was the same.
Tri-County Athletic League girls? tennis front-runner Salinas was extended in two of the matches but beat the Mustangs 7-0 at the GHS tennis courts.
?I told the girls that they can get a lesson just by paying attention,? Mustangs? coach Randy Barbaglia said. ?A couple of girls said this is good. If the girls can just improve and pick up extra games, I?m happy. Several showed a big improvement.?
Emily Castro, moving up to No. 1 singles in place of ill Amy Huang, was the only GHS player to have the same opponent as when the teams met last month. Castro, a softball player new to tennis, lost 6-2, 6-1 to Taryn Andrews. In the earlier meeting, Andrews won 6-0, 6-0.
?It was better than the first time,? Castro said.
The Mustangs? Gories Kwong also was happier than she was the first time the teams met. Playing No. 2 singles for the first time, she lost to Kristen Shimza 6-2, 6-2.
?The rallies were long and could have gone either way,? Kwong said.
Mina Yoo beat Cherilyn Christian 6-4, 6-2, and Kylie Knoles got by Alissa Castro 6-4, 3-6, 10-3.
The No. 1 doubles match was the most tightly contested with Teagen Seely and Jayne MacDonald slipping past Holly Hunter and Karissa Tellez 6-1, 2-6, 10-6.
?It could have been a little better,? Hunter said of the result. ?We played better against Hollister.?
?Playing at home helps a lot because we know the courts,? Tellez said. ?It was close and we could have won.?
The other two doubles matches featured second games that went to tiebreakers. Lily O?Mary and Grace Scandett defeated Anneliese Zelina and Natalie Toews 6-2, 7-6, and Natalie Cruz and Erin Della Rose beat Kim Johnson and Sidney Ebert 6-0, 7-6.
This wasn?t the same team Gilroy (1-5 overall, 1-4 in TCAL) faced in Salinas. Cowboys? coach Bill Scott started seven freshmen and left several starters home to keep the matches more competitive, a gesture Barbaglia thought showed good sportsmanship.
But then Scott has more to choose from, having 15 girls on the varsity that he can rotate in for different matches. The two-time defending TCAL champion Cowboys were only extended in beating Notre Dame 4-3. They now have a 9-1 record overall, 7-0 in TCAL.
