Undefeated girls teannis team topples Live Oak for fifth win
MORGAN HILL – The Lady Mustang tennis team disposed of a fifth straight league opponent in Tuesday’s 6-1 match victory over neighboring rival Live Oak in Morgan Hill.
Not only did Gilroy up its league record to 5-0 through the first half of the season, senior No. 3 singles Mindy Marquez remained unbeaten as well as the No. 2 duo of senior Jackie Morales and junior Anna Nguyen. Marquez battled to a 6-3, 6-3 decision, while Morales and Nguyen rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
“Mindy had a tough match. It was a good singles match to watch,” head coach Jennifer Yoder said. “(Morales and Nguyen) are just steamrolling this year. They’re having fun.”
The Lady Mustangs swept the three doubles match-ups as the top tandem of seniors Amy Thomas and Alicia Shurley fought for a 7-5, 6-3 win and the No. 3 unit of senior Tricia Press and first-time partner Gretchen Wolger claimed a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
“Live Oak had a strong No. 1 doubles team,” Yoder said. “Amy and Ali just outsmarted them and outplayed them. It was a good match.”
Senior No. 1 singles Catherine Wilson dropped a three-set thriller 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 to Live Oak’s Malerie Stevens for Gilroy’s one loss, while senior No. 2 Valerie Huang defeated Acorn Mandy Bouchette in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.
“(Wilson) wasn’t on her game. She didn’t seem like she was playing her game,” Yoder said. “(Huang) just played a little tight in the first set and just unleashed in the second.”
In the No. 4 singles position, senior Megan Leuchars notched a 6-2, 6-1 victory to close out the Gilroy line-up.
“Megan played well. She had a lot of long points and executed nicely and hung in there,” said Yoder, whose squad will host Salinas on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. to start the second round through the league. “It’s going to be a lot tougher. All the schools are out for us because we’re in first place. It’s going to be very tough.”
