GHS girls tennis team drops four tiebreakers in 6-1 match loss
to Notre Dame
SALINAS – The setting for Tuesday’s winner-take-all match between the Gilroy High and Notre Dame girls tennis teams could not have been more perfect than the scenic hills surrounding the Chamisal Tennis & Fitness Center in Salinas.
The Lady Mustangs and the Lady Spirits had already earned a share of the T-CAL title – both finishing at 9-1 atop the league standings by splitting the regular-season series – but a CCS Playoff spot was on the line.
It took four third-set tiebreakers to separate the two top teams as Gilroy came up short in each and suffered a 6-1 match loss.
“I thought we had it. Everybody was pumped. We practiced hard all week,” said senior Katie Blomquist, whose No. 3 doubles unit with senior partner Tricia Pruss fell in the tiebreaker 6-8 after dropping the first set 3-6 and coming back to win the second set 6-4. “We were coming back. I thought we had it. It just kinda fell apart.”
Blomquist and Pruss were up 4-1 in the tiebreaker before falling to Notre Dame’s Prescilla Apilado and Kristin Urabe.
“To come this close and not make it is frustrating,” Pruss said.
Senior Mindy Marquez picked up the only Gilroy win of the day – rolling to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Lady Spirit Kelly McCay in the No. 3 singles match-up.
“A lot more spirit. Just the want to win. I wanted it,” Marquez said. “I got into my game in the first set. Once I won the first set, I was pretty confident that I’d win the second.”
Playing on center court, senior No. 1 singles Catherine Wilson fought for a 7-5 first-set win over Notre Dame’s Stacy Flemming – but then suffered a 6-2 second-set loss and a tough 6-8 tiebreaker loss. If the match went into a third set, a tiebreaker was used right away.
Wilson will team up with Marquez as a doubles team in the Tri-County Athletic League Finals today at North Salinas High and continued on Thursday at Ridgemark in Hollister. Senior Amy Thomas and junior Tasha LoPorto will be Gilroy’s second doubles unit, while Wilson and Leuchars will compete in the singles field.
Senior Megan Leuchars lost for the first time this season in a tiebreaker at the No. 4 singles position. After dropping the first set by a 5-7 spread, Leuchars was tied at 6-6 with Lady Spirit Leah Parsons in the second set when they went right into a tiebreaker. Leuchars’ streak of seven straight was snapped in the 5-7 tiebreaker loss.
Senior No. 2 Valerie Huang also battled into a third set against Notre Dame’s Katie Bohn. Like her other teammates, Huang lost by a 5-7 margin after winning the first set 6-3 and losing the second set 4-6.
In doubles action, the No. 2 tandem of Jackie Morales and Anna Nguyen fell in straight sets to Notre Dame’s Brittany Corda and Rachel Belding; and the No. 1 duo of Thomas and senior Alicia Shurley faltered 2-6, 3-6 to Lady Spirits’ Meryl DeYoung and Jessica Whitaker.
“They were a good group of girls,” said Yoder of her co-league champions.
