October 16, 2009
After their big win in the semi–finals on Thursday, a buoyant band of Bulldogs boarded the bus and headed for the literal "Hills" to brave the Westlake Homecoming evening traffic and face the perennially powerful "Chaps" on their home court in the District Team Tennis Tournament Finals. As usual, the home team's line up was stacked w/quality players. (They had a former District boys' singles' champion playing in the mixed doubles slot, and at #3 in the singles draw), and the visiting "Dawgs" started the match as if they were a little intimidated. (Scoring summary attached.)
In the #1 doubles slot, the team of Greg Haugen and Jacob Belanger were facing the two–time state championship runners–up in Westlake's #1 pair, and in the first set they looked like it, as the "Chaps" took control of the net early and swept to a (1–6) win, that included a couple of questionable calls that the Bulldogs let go by without so much as a "yelp" let alone a "bark" or "growl".The second set, however, showed there was some fight left in these "Dawgs". Following much stronger serves to the net, and hitting effective volleys and overheads of their own, the Bulldogs battled their way to a (6–5) advantage and had three set points before having to settle for a tie breaker which ended (4–7) in favor of the home team.
In the #1 girls' match, the "Lady Dawgs" #1 pair of Amy Belanger and Summer Biggs displayed the results of their hard work on doubles play and strategy as they took an early lead on the #1 "Chaps" pair who had bounced them in straight sets during an earlier match, but got a little tentative down the proverbial stretch and the first set ended up in a (6–all) deadlock. In the ensuing tie breaker, Amy and Summer re–established control of the net and with a flurry of put–away volleys and overhead winners, captured the tie breaker (7–3); broke their opponents' serve in the first game of the second set, and cruised to a (6–3) second set win to put a point on the board for the visitors.
Unfortunately, the host "Chaps" dominated most of the rest of the doubles play. In the "mixed", the team of Andriana Duran and Kyle Frels–Henry actually played pretty steady tennis, but were dominated by their experienced "Chap" foes (6–0. 6–1). The #3 boys' doubles team of Jason Alexander and Jonathan Christian (who was filling in for an unavailable Caleb Ellis) fell by identical (1–6, 1–6) scores in a straight set loss, and at #2 girls' doubles the duo of Allyson Goertz and Carol Pimentel, who had played lights out doubles the day before, never seemed to get going in a (2–6, 2–6) straight set loss At #3 girls', the team of Megan Wells and Makenna Parker dropped the first set (3–6), but even though they played much more effectively in the second, they couldn't make it over the proverbial hump and fell (4–6).
In the #2 boys' match, the team of Lorenzo Salazar and Jan Kirchhoff started slowly in the first set; then rallied, but ultimately fell short (4–6) in the first set. In the second, however, they played almost flawless tennis, and swept to a convincing (6–3) win, and looked to have taken control of the match. Looks can be deceiving, however, for the proverbial worm turned almost immediately and stayed that way in a (0–6) third set beat down to make the score a one–sided (1–6) going into the singles' draw.
Unfortunately, the way team tennis tournaments are structured, the more one–sided doubles matches come off the courts first, and that means the singles matches that go on first often tend to be one–sided affairs as well. At #6 boys', Jonathan had "bagels" served up as his big hitting "Chap" foe claimed an (0–6, 0–6) win. At #3 and #4 girls singles, Allyson and Carol squared off with their opponents from the doubles draw, and unfortunately the results were another pair of straight set (0–6, 1–6) and (1–6, 1–6) losses respectively; which pushed the match count to (1–9) in favor of the home team. So when Jacob fell to his "Chap" foe (2–6, 1–6) at #2 singles for the home team's 10th point, the match was officially over. Other matches on the court when the whistle blew had Greg down a set (2–6) at #1 boys', Amy at (1–all) after two games at #1 girls, Jan at #4 down (3–4) and Makenna at #6 down (2–3) in hard fought matches.
After the match, the "Chap–ions" were congratulated and received their team trophy and individual awards, while the visiting "dawgs" stood awkwardly by since they were unable to receive their runner–up awards until the results of the third–place match (being contested between Anderson HS and Austin High at the Austin Tennis Center) were posted ensuring that no "playback" for second–place would be necessary. That word would arrive long after the "Dawgs" had been fed and let out for the night, but there was probably some "howling" going on after their second–place finish was confirmed and the hotel reservations in Corpus Christi had been transferred from Anderson HS to Bowie. Plans could then begin to be made for the school's first trip to the Region IV Championships in many years.
On Tuesday, at tennis practice, the District Tournament Director presented the hard won hardware to the Bulldog squad in a gathering complete w/photo ops for the assembled Bowie faithful to whom the entire team is indebted for their unwavering support of both the Varsity and JV teams during the fall season. We'll see you at the net, beach, and or "Staghorn"! (Take your pick.)
October 16, 2009
After their big win in the semi–finals on Thursday, a buoyant band of Bulldogs boarded the bus and headed for the literal "Hills" to brave the Westlake Homecoming evening traffic and face the perennially powerful "Chaps" on their home court in the District Team Tennis Tournament Finals. As usual, the home team's line up was stacked w/quality players. (They had a former District boys' singles' champion playing in the mixed doubles slot, and at #3 in the singles draw), and the visiting "Dawgs" started the match as if they were a little intimidated. (Scoring summary attached.)
In the #1 doubles slot, the team of Greg Haugen and Jacob Belanger were facing the two–time state championship runners–up in Westlake's #1 pair, and in the first set they looked like it, as the "Chaps" took control of the net early and swept to a (1–6) win, that included a couple of questionable calls that the Bulldogs let go by without so much as a "yelp" let alone a "bark" or "growl".The second set, however, showed there was some fight left in these "Dawgs". Following much stronger serves to the net, and hitting effective volleys and overheads of their own, the Bulldogs battled their way to a (6–5) advantage and had three set points before having to settle for a tie breaker which ended (4–7) in favor of the home team.
In the #1 girls' match, the "Lady Dawgs" #1 pair of Amy Belanger and Summer Biggs displayed the results of their hard work on doubles play and strategy as they took an early lead on the #1 "Chaps" pair who had bounced them in straight sets during an earlier match, but got a little tentative down the proverbial stretch and the first set ended up in a (6–all) deadlock. In the ensuing tie breaker, Amy and Summer re–established control of the net and with a flurry of put–away volleys and overhead winners, captured the tie breaker (7–3); broke their opponents' serve in the first game of the second set, and cruised to a (6–3) second set win to put a point on the board for the visitors.
Unfortunately, the host "Chaps" dominated most of the rest of the doubles play. In the "mixed", the team of Andriana Duran and Kyle Frels–Henry actually played pretty steady tennis, but were dominated by their experienced "Chap" foes (6–0. 6–1). The #3 boys' doubles team of Jason Alexander and Jonathan Christian (who was filling in for an unavailable Caleb Ellis) fell by identical (1–6, 1–6) scores in a straight set loss, and at #2 girls' doubles the duo of Allyson Goertz and Carol Pimentel, who had played lights out doubles the day before, never seemed to get going in a (2–6, 2–6) straight set loss At #3 girls', the team of Megan Wells and Makenna Parker dropped the first set (3–6), but even though they played much more effectively in the second, they couldn't make it over the proverbial hump and fell (4–6).
In the #2 boys' match, the team of Lorenzo Salazar and Jan Kirchhoff started slowly in the first set; then rallied, but ultimately fell short (4–6) in the first set. In the second, however, they played almost flawless tennis, and swept to a convincing (6–3) win, and looked to have taken control of the match. Looks can be deceiving, however, for the proverbial worm turned almost immediately and stayed that way in a (0–6) third set beat down to make the score a one–sided (1–6) going into the singles' draw.
Unfortunately, the way team tennis tournaments are structured, the more one–sided doubles matches come off the courts first, and that means the singles matches that go on first often tend to be one–sided affairs as well. At #6 boys', Jonathan had "bagels" served up as his big hitting "Chap" foe claimed an (0–6, 0–6) win. At #3 and #4 girls singles, Allyson and Carol squared off with their opponents from the doubles draw, and unfortunately the results were another pair of straight set (0–6, 1–6) and (1–6, 1–6) losses respectively; which pushed the match count to (1–9) in favor of the home team. So when Jacob fell to his "Chap" foe (2–6, 1–6) at #2 singles for the home team's 10th point, the match was officially over. Other matches on the court when the whistle blew had Greg down a set (2–6) at #1 boys', Amy at (1–all) after two games at #1 girls, Jan at #4 down (3–4) and Makenna at #6 down (2–3) in hard fought matches.
After the match, the "Chap–ions" were congratulated and received their team trophy and individual awards, while the visiting "dawgs" stood awkwardly by since they were unable to receive their runner–up awards until the results of the third–place match (being contested between Anderson HS and Austin High at the Austin Tennis Center) were posted ensuring that no "playback" for second–place would be necessary. That word would arrive long after the "Dawgs" had been fed and let out for the night, but there was probably some "howling" going on after their second–place finish was confirmed and the hotel reservations in Corpus Christi had been transferred from Anderson HS to Bowie. Plans could then begin to be made for the school's first trip to the Region IV Championships in many years.
On Tuesday, at tennis practice, the District Tournament Director presented the hard won hardware to the Bulldog squad in a gathering complete w/photo ops for the assembled Bowie faithful to whom the entire team is indebted for their unwavering support of both the Varsity and JV teams during the fall season. We'll see you at the net, beach, and or "Staghorn"! (Take your pick.)
October 15, 2009
It seemed somehow appropriate that Thursday was "Tax Day" as the #3 seeded Bowie Varsity Tennis Team headed east to the Austin Tennis Center for their semi–final match against the #2 seed Anderson HS, because it was definitely time for some "pay back" as the Trojans had knocked off the Bulldogs by razor thin (9–10) margins in their last two team tennis matches. (Scoring summary attached)
The doubles matches would be critical to the outcome. The north–siders have a history of sort of "stacking" their line–ups by playing their stronger players further down the draw to help ensure victories, and today was no different as their #1 singles players were playing in #2 doubles slots, and their #2 girls' singles entry was playing "down" at #3 doubles as well. The "Dawg Squad" has been focusing on doubles play and strategy during practices this fall, and rather than playing a guessing game with the line–up, decided to play it "straight up" and let the proverbial chips fall where they may.
Those chips were flying as Bowie's #1 teams dominated play on both sides of the draw. Greg Haugen and Jacob Belanger cruised to a straight set victory by identical (6–1,6–1) scores and Amy Belanger and Summer Biggs won their first set (6–0) and were leading in the second (2–0) when one of their opponents injured her ankle and was forced to default. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the same fate would befall the #3 girls' doubles team of Megan Wells and Laura Schuetz who were trying to climb out of a (2–5) "hole" in the first set when Laura stumbled while going for a put–away shot at the net, and her painful pirouette also produced a badly sprained ankle that gave the match to their opponents on a default, but also knocked her out of a critical #6 singles match.
Things weren't going well at #3 on the boys' draw either, as the team of Caleb Ellis and Jason Alexander made way too many unforced errors against a very steady Anderson pair and fell (2–6, 1–6), and it was more of the same in the mixed doubles match where Andriana Duran and Kyle Frels–Henry fell by identical (1–6, 1–6) scores in another straight set loss. Trailing, (2–3) in the match count, the stage was set for the pivotal #2 doubles matches in each draw where the Trojans had "stacked" their two best players. Anderson had scored wins in both of these matches in this season's August meeting and moved into the singles' draw with a commanding (2–5) lead, but this time the Bulldogs would have none of it. Playing almost flawless tennis the #2 doubles teams of Lorenzo Salazar and Jan Kirchhoff on the boys' side and Allyson Goertz and Carol Pimentel in the girls' draw dismissed their opponents with convincing (6–2, 6–2) and (6–0, 6–3) straight set victories respectively to give the "Dawgs" a (4–3) advantage when singles play began. However, as usual, it would a proverbial nip and tuck affair there as well.
Amy at #1 and Summer at #2 dominated the top of their side of the draw with convincing (6–0, 6–0) and (6–2, 6–1) wins, while Greg had a fight on his hands in a close match against Anderson's #1 before prevailing (6–4, 6–3). At #2, however, Jacob got a little too aggressive against his steady Trojan foe and unforced errors cost him in a (3–6, 4–6) set back leaving the match score at (7–4) in favor of the "Dawgs". At the bottom of the draws, however it was a different story with Andriana who was filling in for Laura at #6 falling (2–6, 3–6) and Megan coming out on the short end of too many big points in a (2–6, 5–7) defeat at #5. In the #6 boys' match Jason also struggled on big points losing too many "deuce" games in a (4–6, 3–6) loss leaving the match score even at (7–all).
Allyson (#3) took care of business with a solid (6–0, 6–1) win, and Carol followed suit with another big win (6–2, 6–1) at #4, but on the boys' side Lorenzo was frustrated by the almost error free play of his Trojan foe at #3 in a straight set (1–6, 1–6) loss that left the match score at (9–8) with two matches on the court. It looked like Jan would make short work of his match at #4 as he easily captured the first set (6–2), but his opponent settled down and forced a second–set tie breaker. Jan jumped out to a commanding (6–1) lead, and it looked as if the match was all but over. However, a double fault here, an unforced error there, followed by a tentative volley or two, let his Anderson foe back in the match, and as the momentum swung his way, he ran off seven consecutive points to claim the tie breaker (6–8), force a third set and give the Trojan faithful an opportunity to jump for the proverbial joy.
Meanwhile on court one, Caleb had fallen behind his #5 Trojan opponent (1–4), but as the momentum changed in Jan's match, so it did here, as Caleb regrouped and using well–placed chips, slices, and lobs battled back to take a (6–5) lead, and capped his comeback off with a "Sports Center" worthy diving defensive volley, and then scrambled to his feet to crush a forehand winner to claim the first set (7–5) and give the Bulldogs something to cheer about. Jan and his opponent were allowed a 10 minute respite, and with new balls resumed their tense duel. To his credit Jan did not allow his collapse in the tie breaker to affect his play in the crucial third set, and while the match was close, he got a service break, and then held his serves to claim the set (6–4), and the match for the under "dawg" Bowie squad (10–8).
Caleb's match was whistled off the court, and a sort of "Dawg" pile celebration broke out as the team surrounded Jan to congratulate him on his clinching win. Cries of "Stag Horn" here we come" could be heard as the Bulldog faithful began to anticipate a long–awaited trip to the Region IV championships, but Friday's Championship and Third–Place matches had to be first priority as a happy pack of Bulldogs headed home after a big win.
October 14, 2009
By defeating Akins HS (10–0) in their first round match, the sixth seeded Pflugerville HS squad had earned the right to face the Bowie Varsity third seeded "net heads" at the Bowie Tennis Center last Wednesday afternoon. There was some concern that a recent one–sided (17–2) victory over the Panthers might lull the Bulldogs into a sense of complacency, and leave them ripe for the type of upset that knocked Bowie out of the tournament last year.
These concerns were magnified as the visitors arrived almost an hour before the appointed match time, and were warmed up and ready to go well before the home team trickled out onto the courts in a much more disorganized fashion that did not look lie they would be at all "ready" to play when the matches were put on court at the appointed 3:30 p.m. start time. However, those proverbial "looks" can indeed be deceiving. (See attached scoring summary)
The doubles matches went on the courts first, and for the most part, the Bulldogs improved doubles play was evident. In the girls' draw the #1 pair of Amy Belanger and Summer Biggs claimed an easy (6–1, 6–2) victory, but got some "gas" from Coach Webber for not being more aggressive in their net play in preparation for potentially tougher matches to come. However, the #2 team of Allyson Goertz and varsity "rookie" Makenna Parker (who was replacing an absent Carol Pimentel) went right after it, and also won a straight set victory by identical (6–2, 6–2) scores against a Panther pair who had given the Bulldogs trouble in their previous match. The team of Megan Wells and Laura Schuetz made it a clean sweep on the girls' side as they started strongly w/a (6–3) first set win, and then held on to also claim the second (7–5).
In the boys' draw the teams of Greg Haugen and Jacob Belanger (at #1) and Caleb Ellis and Jason Alexander (at #3) continued the hosts' domination with (6–0, 6–1) and (6–1, 6–1) straight set victories respectively. At #2 boys' doubles, however, the team of Lorenzo Salazar and Jan Kirchhoff behind a plethora of service errors and wayward ground strokes fell behind early (2–6); got things going a bit in the second set, but still fell (5–7). However, in the mixed doubles competition, the team of Andriana Duran and Kyle Frels–Henry fought hard to get that point back with a (6–4) (7–6, TB 9–7) win to make the team score (6–1) as the match moved into the singles draw.
There the Bulldogs' domination at the top of both draws continued as Amy cruised (6–0, 6–1), and Greg did her one better by tossing "bagels" at his Panther foe (6–0, 6–0) at their respective #1 slots, and Jason did the same at #6 by routing his opponent by identical (6–1, 6–1) counts in another straight set win. These relatively quick victories put the match count at (9–1) for Bowie, and after Lorenzo (at #3) had won the first set (6–1) his opponent injured his shoulder and was forced to default giving the host "Dawgs" their 10th point, and putting the match statistically out of reach for the Panthers.
Consequently the other matches were whistled off the court with Jacob and Summer leading their #2 matches by (6–0, 1–0) and (6–1, 2–0) scores respectively. Allyson had won the first set of her match at #3 (6–4,) and was tied (3–all) with her "Pflugerville Pfoe " in the second. Jan at #4 was leading (5–1) in the first, and Makenna at #6 girls' had overwhelmed her opponent (6–0) in the first, but was having problems with the "puff balls" coming her way and dropped the second (4–6). She was trailing in the third set (4–5) when the match ended.
At #5 Caleb had dropped the first set of his match (2–6), but claimed to be on the proverbial comeback trail when the end came making the final score (10–1) in favor of the host "Dawgs" and putting them into the semi–finals the next afternoon against the second–seeded Anderson Trojans at the new Austin Tennis Center.
October 8, 2009
The Bulldog varsity net heads finally escaped from the Thursday's school "lockdown" and headed N. for a "friendly" against a Pflugerville Team that will be their likely quarter–final opponents in the upcoming District Team Tennis Tournament. (see attached scoring summary)
The match began with the seven scheduled doubles matches that were contested in the "championship" format (two six–game sets w/a 10 point "super tiebreaker" in lieu of a third set), and the #1 Bulldog pairs on both sides of the draw went right after their Panther foes with Greg Haugen and Jacob Belanger winning (6–1, 6–2), and Amy Belanger and Summer Biggs going them one game better (6–1, 6–1) and it was ditto at #3 girls' where the team of Megan Wells and Laura Schuetz cruised to an identical (6–1, 6–1) victory and a quick (3–0) match score lead for the visitors.
In the #2 slot, however, things got a little dicey in both draws. On the boys' side, Lorenzo Salazar and Jan Kirchhoff (an exchange student from Germany making his first Varsity start) cruised to a (6–2) win in the first set, but a spate of unforced errors (the dreaded UFE) made the second set a toss–up until they got things back together in the tiebreaker for a (7–6, TB7–2) win.
It was a similar story on the girls' side, as the duo of Allyson Goertz and Carol Pimentel overwhelmed their opponents in the first set(6–1), stumbled through the second with way too many service errors and "UFE"'s (5–7), but woke up for a (10–2 TB) win in the third to make the match score (5–0) for the "Dawgs".
The drama continued in the #3 boys' match where Jason Alexander and Kyle Frels–Henry fell behind 0–4 in the first set, rallied, to 4–5, but lost it by a (4–6) score. Instead of rolling over, however, they took charge of the second and jumped out to a (4–0) lead and evened the match (6–3) and claimed the tiebreaker (10–5).
The mixed doubles match was also very closely fought as the team of Andriana Duran and Jonathan Christian had a chance to win the first set at 6–5, but it got away as the host Panthers evened the score at 6–all and then ran away with the tiebreaker (1–7), and kept the momentum to claim the second set (2–6) to put the host Panthers on the board and make the match score (6–1) for the Bulldogs as they moved into the singles round.
Under the "host coach's prerogative", at that point the format was changed to eight game pro–sets until the match was decided (one team or the other had 10 wins), and then the matches would convert to 6–game sets.
Since the more one–sided doubles matches had finished first, they were the first ones to take the court for the singles contests, and the Bulldogs continued their domination at the top of both draws. On the boys' side Greg and Jacob claimed relatively easy (8–1) and (8–2) wins at #1 and #2 respectively. Not to be out done, at #3 and #4 Lorenzo and Jan tossed "bagels" at their Panther foes with identical (8–0) wins. In the girls draw, Amy continued the "Dawg"attack with an (8–3) win at #1 and at #2 Summer scored an (8–1) victory and Laura followed suit at #6 with an identical (8–1) win.
With the match now decided in favor of the "Dawgs" the remaining matches were shortened, but Bowie kept the pressure on as Carol swept her match at #4 (6–0), and Megan and Jason playing the #5 slots in their respective draws claimed a pair of (6–1) victories. At #6 boys' however, Kyle's opponent got to the net first, and claimed the lone singles point for the host Panthers (3–6) making the final match score (17–2) for the Bulldogs.
The "Dawg" squad will next take the court on Wednesday at the Bulldog tennis center in the quarterfinals of the District Team Tennis Tournament. We'll see you at the net.
October 7, 2009
The Bowie JV Tennis Team joined the other "open" program in town in a tennis "extravaganza" against the Anderson JV squad at the Bowie Tennis Center. With the fading daylight becoming more of an issue each day, the teams were still able to complete 36 matches using a shortened 6–game set match format to give 48 players a competitive opportunity in both singles and doubles instead of the usual 28. It was wild.
Twelve doubles matches started the fun. In the girls' draw the #1 team of Makenna Parker and Daniela Garcia got things off to a good start for the host team with a (6–2) win over their Trojan opponents, and the #2 pairing of Charlotte Graun and Jenny Scouller followed suit with a (6–1) victory as well. Carly Munoz and Jenni Merritt at #3 and the pairing of Iman Maniya and Taylor Upton at #6 dropped hard–fought matches by identical (4–6) scores.
The home team's struggles continued as the teams of Shelby Dorf and Michaela Johnson at #5 an Jenni Klinger and Stephanie Garcia at #4 also fell by (2–6) and (1–6) scores respectively to put the visiting Trojans into the lead for the match (2–4).
On the boys' side of the draw things went a little better for the "Dawgs" as the teams of Alex Nguyen and Joseph Lee at #3, Alex Keitz and Evan Placke at #5 and Edward Ahn and David Toth at #6 all won by (6–3) counts, but the proverbial tables were turned by the Anderson foes of the team of Joe Fix and Nick Ahn at #2 (3–6), and the duo of Josue' Navarro and Sean Atkins at #4 (1–6). The doubles match of the day took place at #1 where the team of David Park and Jonathan Christian were locked in a back and forth battle with the #1 Trojan pair that ended in a (6–7, 4–7TB) loss that kept the host team from evening the match and left the match score at (5–7) going into the singles' competition.
A #1 in their respective draws, Makenna (6–0) and David P. (6–3) squared the match, but it swung back the Trojans' way at #2 where Jonathan and Daniella dropped identical (3–6) matches. At #3 a (1–6) loss by Joe F. gave the visitors another point, but a (6–1) win by Charlotte took it back again.
The back and forth pattern of the match continued at #4 and #5 in both draws where Nick (2–6) and Alex (5–7) dropped points to the Trojans but Jenny S. and Carly recaptured them with identical (6–3) wins on the Lady "Dawgs" side of the draw, and at #7 Joseph L. claimed his match (6–4), but Stephanie Garcia dropped a (3–6) match to make the overall match count (11–13) in favor of the visitors.
Things pretty much went "south" for the host Bulldogs at that point as Edward and Jenni K. lost their #6 matches by (3–6) and (6–7) scores respectively, and the slide continued at #8 where Josue' (2–6) and Jenny M. (1–6) also fell to their north side foes.
At the #9 slot Alex K. had chances to win his match, but dropped a close one (6–7, 3–7TB), and on the girls' side Shelby also fell in a hard fought (4–6) contest that featured lots of long rallies. It was more of the same at #10 as Sean lost a "back and forth" contest (5–7), and Michaela was overwhelmed (0–6).
The #11 slot matches continued the same pattern as Evan couldn't seem to convert the "big" points and fell (4–6) while Iman lost at (2–6) as well. Taylor had another closely contested match against one of her doubles foes (4–6) at #12, and on the boys' side David Toth finally added another point for the home team as he rode his much improved service game to a (6–3) win that made the final match score total (12–24) in favor of the visiting Trojans.
The JV squad is next schedule to take the courts against the Westlake team on Wednesday, October 21st in a make–up match of one that was postponed because of rain a few weeks ago. They are planning on bringing a large contingent as well. We'll see you at the net.
September 30, 2009
The Bowie JV Tennis Squad successfully dodged the daily 3:30 p.m. rain showers that had caused practices and two tournaments to be cancelled the previous week as they faced the neighboring "Eagles" in a dual meet at the Akins Tennis Center. As usual, the doubles matches were first on the agenda, and because of the unavailability of female players, the matches in the boys' draw trickled onto the court first, and were contested in a single six–game set format because of the resultant late start of many matches.
The #1 doubles team of David Park and Jonathan Christian made short work of their opponents in a (6–1) win, and the #3 duo of Nick Ahn and Joseph Lee followed suit with an even more one–sided (6–0) victory.
The matches at #2 (Joe Fix and Alex Nguyen), #4 (Josue' Navarro and Sean Atkins) and #5 (Evan Placke and Nick DeFalco were much more closely contested, but still ended in victories for the visitors by identical (6–4) scores.
When the girls' doubles teams finally got on court, the visiting "Dawg" squad continued its domination. The team of Makenna Parker and Daniela Garcia (playing #1) got off to a slow start, but cruised home with a (6–2) win, and the pairings of Charlotte Graun and Jenny Scouller (at #2) and Lindsey Auchterlonie and Carly Munoz (at #3) tossed "bagel" at their Eagle foes with a pair of (6–0) victories to make the match score (8–0) going into the singles matches.
The Bulldogs continued to pile up victories with Jonathan (#2), Joe (#3), Nick A. (#4), Joseph (#6) and Josue' (#7) adding five more wins to the visitors' count by identical (6–2) scores in the boys' draw, and Alex N. and Nick D. at #5 and #10 respectively scoring (6–1) victories as well. Sean and Evan added (6–3) and (6–4) wins at #8 and #9 respectively.
In the match of the day in the boys' draw, David Park at #1 was facing one of the "Eagles'" varsity squad members, and he made it a proverbial clean sweep for the visiting Bulldogs with a hard–fought (7–5) win that made the match score a one–sided (18–0) for the "Dawgs".
Things were even more dominant on the girls' side of the draw where Makenna (#1), Jenny (#4) and Carly (#6) all blanked their opponents by identical (6–0) scores and Charlotte only gave up one game while beating her "Lady Eagle " foe (6–1) at #4 to bring the final match count to a (22–0) shut out for the visitors.
The JV squad will have a much more difficult task on their hands next Wednesday as they face a "deep" Anderson squad at the Bowie Tennis Center. We'll see you at the net!
Coach Webber
September 8, 2009
An impromptu Labor Day practice looked like it might help cure the doubles "doldrums" that have been plagued the Bulldog Varsity Tennis Team in their first three matches of the season, but Tuesday morning it looked as if the "Pflu Bug" might have thrown a proverbial monkey wrench into their plans for revenge against the Pflugerville Connally Cougars when boys' #1 Greg Haugen's fever knocked him out of the afternoon match. Fortunately for the "Dawgs", Lorenzo Salazar, a former Bulldog tennis "newcomer of the year" chose this week to come off the inactive list and help fill the slot left vacant by Greg's illness. (See attached match scoring summary.)
In the doubles competition; on the girls' side of the draw things got off on the proverbial good foot. At #1, the team of Amy Belanger and Summer Biggs quickly fed their opponents "bagels" in a (6–0, 6–0) beat down, and the duo of Megan Wells and Andriana Duran followed suit with a straight set (6–1, 6–4) win at #3. At #2, the pairing of Allyson Goertz and Carol Pimentel got off to a quick start, and then hung on for (7–5) first set win. Things went south in the second (1–6), but in the third–set tie breaker the Lady "Dawgs" got off to a good start and looked ready to put the match away, before a rash of service and volley errors left them on the short end of an (8–10) count to make the match count (2–1) Bulldogs.
In the boys' draw, fortunately, the #1 squad of Jacob Belanger and Lorenzo Salazar were able to turn the proverbial tables on their Cougar foes. The Bulldogs wandered through the first set as if they were strangers, and their opponents were able to follow chipped and sliced approaches to the net and jump out to a (0–5) lead and claim the first set (1–6). To their credit, the "Dawgs" refused to "roll–over" or "play dead", but instead put some proverbial "bite" into their own net game and cut down on their service errors to even the match with a (6–2) win in the second, and took charge of the tie breaker early and cruised to a (10–5) win to claim the match.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as well in the rest of the boys' draw, as the #3 team of Kyle Frels–Henry and David Park missed too many first serves, and were unable to keep their opponents off the net as they fell in straight sets (2–6, 1–6), and though it looked as if they might be able to turn things around at any time, the squad of Caleb Ellis and Jason Alexander fell in a hard–fought (4–6, 5–7) match at #2 to even the match score at (3–all).
The mixed doubles match would decide the lead going into the singles draw, and the team of Daniela Garcia and Joe Fix lost a close first set (4–6), but began to attack the distaff member of their Cougar foes, and by the end of the second set had her limping with cramps in one leg, had evened the match with a (6–4) win, and looked ready to roll starting the third set tie breaker. Looks, however can be deceiving, and in a flurry of unforced errors and poor shot selection, the Bulldog duo were down and quickly out by a one–sided (1–10) count, and the Dawg's were down (3–4),as the singles matches began to go on court.
Just as it had been in the district match last year, the singles draw was a back and forth affair. On the girls' side, Amy continued her dominant play at #1 in a (6–1, 6–0) straight set win. At #2 Summer drew the opponent who was arguably Connally's most consistent player, and while Summer's play may not have been as consistent as she likes, her score was a consistent (6–3, 6–3) win that put the visiting "Dawgs" back up by a (5–4) count.
At the top of the boys' draw, Jacob fell into the same trap that had plagued him and Lorenzo in the doubles match, as he allowed his smaller, quicker, opponent to get to the net for easy points and a (3–6) first set win. Fortunately, a change of tactics turned the tide here as well, as Jacob decided to take advantage of his height and began to attack his opponent's backhand on both and returns and beat him to the net to even the match with a (6–4) second–set win, and like the proverbial junk yard "dawg", refused to "let go", and kept the pressure on to take the breaker (10–5) and claim the match.
At #2, Lorenzo settled into a proverbial groove, as if he had never been away. He stayed within himself, and used his consistent serve and "heavy" penetrating ground strokes to dominate his "Cougar" foe (6–0, 6–1), and push the Bulldogs' lead to (7–4). However, the match momentum swung back to the home team, as Kyle's opponent played every consistent tennis to claim an (0–6, 2–6) win at #5, and at #3 Caleb also dropped his match by a "consistent" (3–6, 3–6) score to tighten things up again at (7–6).
Meanwhile over in the girls' draw, Allyson and Andriana pushed the visiting "Dawgs" to the brink of victory (9–6) with straight set (6–2, 6–1) and (6–1–6–0) wins at #3 and #6 respectively, so just like last year, there were four matches on the court, and the Bulldogs needed one to claim the victory. It looked like Jason would end the suspense at #4 as he cruised to a first set win (6–3), and was up (5–4) in the second, but let the second set get away (5–7), and his opponent carried the momentum into the tie–breaker and came away with a (3–10) win.
The Bulldog faithful were finally able to breathe a proverbial sigh of relief as Carol at #4 finally put away her Cougar opponent (6–0, 6–3) to make the results of David's #6 match (4–6, 0–6) and Megan's (4–6, 2–6) #5 match academic and the final match score (10–9) in favor of the "Dawgs". Despite the lateness of the hour; the feeling, (and the dinner that followed) was "Divine" even though the Bulldogs came close to turning into the proverbial pumpkins due to the lateness of their return. The Varsity squad will swing back into action on Tuesday as they host the Austin Maroons. We'll see you at the net.
September 9, 2009
The Bowie Tennis Team's JV squad was forced to hit the proverbial road as they opened their 2009 team tennis season with a visit to the Austin High Maroons. Since both squads were trying to maximize the competitive opportunities for their players, and because contractual court restrictions dictated that the meet had to end at 7:00 p.m., an 8–game pro–set format was used.
The match began with nine doubles matches, and the visiting Bulldogs were determined to get off to a good start. On the girls' side of the draw, the lady "Dawgs" were up to the task. At #1 doubles the team of Laura Schuetz and Makenna Parker scored an 8–5 win over the Maroons' top squad, and at #3, the team of Lindsey Auchterlonie and Jenni Klinger prevailed (8–2). The duo of Charlotte Graun and Jessi Devenyns had a tougher task at #2, as they were taken to a tie–breaker, but hung on for an (8–7, 7–3TB) win and a (3–0 match score lead).
The boys' side of the draw was a different story, as Nick and Edward Ahn, (making the #1 doubles team a family affair) ran into a "Mutt and Jeff" Maroon pairing with a huge height differential between their two opponents. As it turned out the "long and short" of it was that the Maroons dominated the net and the match (1–8). The scores were closer at #3 and #4, but the teams of Josue' Navarro and Sean Atkins and Alex Keitz and Evan Placke lost hard fought matches by (5–8) and (6–8) scores respectively, and the match was even at (3–all).
At #2 boys' doubles, however, the team of Jonathan Christian and Joe Fix got down early, but used some effective angled put away's to even the match and then hung on to win the tiebreaker (8–7, 7–5 TB), and at #5 the squad of David Toth and Andrew Zamarron also grabbed a win (8–5) for the visitors. Capping off the doubles play, the mixed doubles team of Carly Munoz and Joseph Lee, dominated their Austin High foes (8–2) to give the young "Dawg Squad" a (6–3) match score lead going into the singles' draw.
There, the "Lady Dawgs" kept the pressure on as Laura and Lindsey scored one–sided (8–1) and (8–0) wins at #1 and #3 respectively. Charlotte (7–4) at #4 and Jessi (8–4) at #5 kept things going for the visitors, However, Jenni lost a hard fought tiebreaker (7–8, 4–7TB) at #7, and Carly's (5–8) loss at #6 gave the Maroons back a couple of points, but still left the Bulldogs with an (8–5) match score advantage.
At the top of the boys' draw, things got a little dicey as Jonathan at #1 and Joe at #2 dropped (5–8) and (3–8) matches, and Josue' at #5 and Sean at #6 fell by more one–sided (1–8) and (0–8) scores respectively. But both Nick (5–2) at #3 and Edward (8–5) at #4 were "on" and got two of those points back; leaving the match count at (10–9).
However, at the bottom of the boys' draw, the "Dawgs" were especially hungry as Alex (8–2) at #8, Evan (8–4) at #9, David (6–4) at #10, and Andrew (7–3) at #11 scored wins to more than off–set a (5–6) loss by Joseph at #7. This big finish made the final match count (15–10) for the visitors, and sent the young Bulldogs home with their first win over the JV Maroons in five years.
September 1, 2009
The Trojan Wars bedeviled the Greeks for years, and the same could be said to be true for the Bulldog varsity tennis team as they faced off against the Anderson Trojans for their annual battle on Tuesday at the Bowie Tennis Center. The doubles match–ups have been problematic for the home squad in their first two matches, but things at least began on a more positive note for the "Dawgs". Playing at #1 in the boys' draw, the team of Greg Haugen and Jacob Belanger jumped out early with a (6–1) first set victory, and though they let up a little in the second against their young Trojan foes, did just enough to claim a (6–4) straight set win.
Not to be out done, the #1 girls' duo of Amy Belanger and Summer Biggs won their first by an identical (6–1) count, but then tossed a "bagel" at their north side opponents to take the second set (6–0) and get the host Bulldogs out to a (2–0) match count lead for a change. Unfortunately, however, the early optimism was short–lived as at #2 in both draws, the teams of Caleb Ellis and Jason Alexander and Allyson Goertz and Carol Pimentel lost hard fought first sets, and couldn't match the superior net play of their Anderson foes as they dropped straight set matches at (3–6, 2–6) and (4–6, 2–6) scores respectively to even the match score at (2–all).
Having gained the momentum, the visitors continued to roll up wins as Kyle Frels–Henry and Eric Swarbrick couldn't turn things around as unforced ground stroke errors doomed them in a disheartening (1–6, 2–6) loss at #3 doubles, and it was the same story for the #3 team of Megan Wells, and Andriana Duran who also struggled in a (0–6, 2–6) straight set loss. In the mixed doubles match–up, the Trojans stacked things a bit by playing their #1 girl, and #4 boy against the team of Daniela Garcia and Jonathan Christian, and came away with a one–sided (1–6, 0–6) win to put the host bulldogs back in their usual "hole" as they moved into singles play facing a (2–5) deficit.
Continuing their dominating play at the top of both draws, the Bulldogs relatively quickly regained the lead in the match score as Greg (at #1 boys') and Summer (at #2 girls') both scored "double bagel" (6–0, 6–0) wins, and the Belanger "gang"also cruised to straight set wins with both Amy (at #1 girls) and Jacob (at #2 boys') claiming victory by (6–1, 6–0) and (6–2, 6–1) scores respectively. At #4 girls', Carol Pimentel also claimed a one–sided (6–0–6–1) win, but at the bottom of the two draws, the Trojans evened the match count at (7–all) as Andriana (#6 girls') dropped her match by identical (0–6) set scores, and Eric's frustrating inconsistency continued as he also fell (3–6, 2–6) in the #6 boys' slot.
That left five matches on the court, and as has been the case the last four times these squads have met, the team that could come away with three victories first would claim the match. The Trojans struck first at #3 boys' as an extremely quick left–hander who had won the Bryan Tournament last spring and seemed to be playing out of ladder position here, claimed a (1–6, 1–6) win over Caleb. The teams split tie breaker wins with Allyson jumping out to a (6–2) first set win, but losing a heart breaker with tie breaker losses in the second (6–7, 3–7 TB), and the third–set super breaker (5–10). Jason (at #4) turned the proverbial tables after dropping the first set (4–6). Playing very steady tennis, his superior shot placement claimed the second set by a one–sided (6–1) count, and finally won a third–set breaker for the home team (10–5). (At least one "drought" is finally over.)
The teams also split the #5 matches in both draws as Kyle fell to his "Trojan" foe (3–6, 1–6) and Megan held on for a (6–3) (7–5) win, but for the second consecutive season, the final tally left the match score at a frustrating total of 9 wins for the host "Dawgs" and 10 for the visitors from "Troy". That evens the match count for the past four meetings between the two squads at two wins apiece, and the Bulldogs can only hope for another chance to break the tie at the District team tennis championships in October.
Your varsity squad will take the court again next Tuesday, as they travel to the "tundra" to face Pflugerville Connally, and attempt to gain some measure of revenge on the "Cougars" who knocked the "Dawgs" out in the quarter finals of the District tournament last season in another heart breaking (9–10) loss. We'll see you at the net.
August 29, 2009
On Saturday the Bulldog Varsity Tennis Team was part of a five–team quasi–round robin, which had us playing host to a morning match between San Antonio Judson and Austin High, and then facing off against those same Judson Rockets in the afternoon. While watching the a. m. pairing, I couldn't remember ever having seen a match in which 8 of the 19 matches went to a third–set tie breaker, and since Judson won five of the eight aforementioned tie breakers, they went to lunch as the winners of the match. Little did I realize the truth to Jimmy Durante's often quoted motto "You ain't seen nothing yet!" (Match scoring summary attached.)
As usual, the afternoon match also began with the doubles pairings. On the boys' side of the draw, Greg Haugen and Jacob Belanger playing at #1 against a strong rocket duo, did not take advantage of opportunities to take control of the net, and dropped the first set (4–6). In the second, they were much more aggressive following their serves and returns in, and seemingly took control of the match with a (6–2) win. In the third set super tie–breaker, however, the momentum went back to the visitors, and though the Bulldogs led late in the breaker, four consecutive lost points gave the match to the visitors by a (7–10) count.
At #2, the pairing of Caleb Ellis and newcomer Jonathan Christian, were up against an athletic duo of "Rockets" who ran down almost everything and cruised to a quick victory by identical (1–6, 1–6) set scores. The #3 squad of Kyle, Frels–Henry and Eric Swarbrick hooked up with their Judson foes that was remarkably similar to the match at @1. The lost the first set (3–6) relatively quickly, but started playing much more aggressively and took control of the net to win the second (7–5), but ended up in the same proverbial boat as Greg and Jacob as they dropped the deciding tie breaker (7–10).
In the girls' doubles contests, Amy Belanger and Carol Pimentel (playing at #1), took on the talented Delgado sisters; struggled with unforced errors, and came out on the short end of a (3–6, 3–6) straight set score. At #2, Megan Wells and Laura Scheutz dropped a tight first set (5–7), seemingly took control of the match with a (6–2) win in the second, but in a pattern that by this time was taking on an ominous tone, turned the tie breaker into a heart breaker by a (9–11) count.
At #3 the team of Jenny Scouller and Mira Patel were rudely welcomed to 5A tennis competition in a (1–6, 1–6) straight set loss to their Rocket foes. In the mixed doubles match, the team of Daniela Garcia and David Park dropped the first set by that same (1–6) count. They played much better in the second, but still came up short (4–6), and for the second consecutive match, the "Dawgs" had dug themselves a serious "hole" to attempt to climb out of as the match count stood at (0–7) as they moved into the singles competition.
The top of the Judson singles draw was packed with members of the aforementioned Delgado family, and at #1 boys' singles Greg took on the oldest of the group and was unable to overcome his steady hard, flat, serves and killer cross–court backhand; as he fell by identical scores (4–6, 4–6) in a straight set loss. At #1 in the girls' singles draw, Amy faced a familiar foe in the older of the Delgado "girls". Amy had upset her in the Region IV singles quarter–finals last spring, in a thrilling three–set match, and started strongly in the first set with a (6–3) win. Amy took a lead (4–3) in the second set as well, but dropped three consecutive games and the set (4–6), to set the stage for another (you guessed it) third set tie break heart break (9–11). At #2 singles, the younger sister made the score Delgados three, Bulldogs zero, as she held Carol off in the first set (3–6), and then cruised in the second (0–6).
Meanwhile back on the boys' side of the singles draw, at #2, Jacob jumped out to an early lead in the first set, handed it back with some unforced errors as his Rocket opponent took the air out of the ball so to speak, and just pushed the ball back over the net. However, Jake regained his composure and showed that the hosts could win a tie–breaker too (7–2) to take the first set. In the second, however, the "pusher" was back for more, and Jacob struggled to find any sort of a rhythm as he dropped the second set (2–6), and then ("Oh no. not another one!") fell by a one–sided (3–10) count in the tie breaker.
Over on court #8, Jason Alexander at #4 seemed clearly in control of his match, as his steady play and good placements gave him a one–sided (6–2) first set win, but his Rocket opponent stopped making so many errors and turned the match around in the second set (3–6) to square the match, and with the aid of a couple of questionable line calls continued the tie break "torture" with another (7–10) win. Kyle played a very competitive first set before falling (4–6) at #5 singles, but seemed to run out of gas in the second (1–6), and at #6, Eric's inconsistent ground strokes doomed him to a (1–6, 0–6) straight set loss.
Back on the girls' side, Megan seemed to have caught Eric's "bug", as she was thumped by an identical (1–6, 0–6) score, but at #5, Andriana Duran finally provided a proverbial ray of sunshine for the Bowie faithful as she put the Bulldogs' first point on the board with a straight set (6–2, 7–5) win over her "Rocket" foe. At #4, newcomer Laura Schuetz followed suit with a steady (6–2, 6–0) win at #4, (sehr gut!), and at #6, Lindsey Auchterlonie looked as if she might make it three in a row for the "Lady Dawgs" as she took a tight first set (7–5), but her Judson opponent turned things around in the second with a (2–6) win, and then wouldn't you know it, along came another (7–10) tie break loss ("Arghh!")
In the last "official" pairing of the day at #3 in the boys' draw, birthday boy Caleb Ellis, who had taken time off from celebrating the completion of another solar orbit, faced off against a Judson opponent who had played #1 singles for the "Rockets" in the morning match against Austin High. In the first set, Caleb had trouble handling the pace of his opponent's serve and "heavy" forehand drives in a (2–6) loss, but he refused to "roll over", regained his "touch" and fought hard to claim the second set (6–4). However, ("Here we go again.") the tie break ended in a maddeningly familiar (3–10) win for the visitors making the final "official" match score (2–17) in favor of the "Rockets".
In five "extra" singles matches, the Bulldogs acquitted them selves well, with Jenny (an 8–5 winner) and Mira (on the losing end of a 3–8 score) splitting two matches in the girls' draw, and Jonathan and David Park taking their matches by the scores of (8–4) and (5–4 retired–injury) respectively. In the final "extra" match (which was played in the three set format on the extra court during the doubles competition), Joe Fix started off on the proverbial good foot, by taking the first set (7–6) in a tie breaker (7–2), then dropped the second (2–6). In the tie breaker (as if I needed to say it at this point), his opponent prevailed by the what would seem statistically improbable (7–10) count.
Not only did the nine (count 'em) tie breakers break the unofficial record that had seemingly been set in the morning matches, but the "Dawgs" had the dubious distinction of losing them all, leaving the total match count at (5–19) in favor of the visitors from the "Alamo City". Undaunted, but slightly "snake–bitten", the Bulldog Varsity squad will face off against the against the Anderson Trojans on Tuesday afternoon.
August 28, 2009
On Friday afternoon the Bulldog Varsity Tennis Team opened the '09 Fall Team Tennis Season by hosting a "friendly" against the perennially powerful Westlake squad from across the river. The Chaps returned the core of an extremely strong squad on the boys' side of the draw, and results showed it. (See attached scoring summary) At #1 doubles, the team of defending district singles champ Greg Haugen, and super soph Jacob Belanger played a quality match, but still fell in straight sets (2–6, 3–6) against the visitors' two time defending state runner's up doubles team. The #2 doubles team of Caleb Ellis and Jason Alexander was also up against an extremely strong duo that included a former district singles champion, and the loss by identical (1–6, 1–6) set scores was indicative. Things didn't get any easier at #3 doubles, where the team of Kyle Frels–Henry and newcomer David Park were rudely welcomed to varsity tennis with a another straight set loss (0–6, 1–6) to make the match score 0–3 in favor of the visitors.
Hopes were running higher on the girls' side of the draw as the Chaps had graduated the defending district singles champion and a couple of other senior players, but as usual, they had reloaded with a pair of super champ qualified freshmen who made it tough for the Lady "Dawgs" as well. The #1 pairing for the home team, district singles runner–up Amy Belanger and Summer Biggs were unable to get to the net with the necessary consistency and fell to Westlake's #1 team by identical (6–3, 6–3) set counts. At #2 the returning district doubles' runners–up team of Carol Pimentel and Megan Wells got off to a slow start, and struggled against a young Chap pair before also falling in straight sets (1–6, 2–6). At #3, he first–time pairing of newcomer Laura Scheutz and Daniela Garcia looked like they might turn things around as they played a very competitive first set before falling (4–6), but it was all downhill from there as the visitors ran away with the second set (1–6), and put the host Bulldogs in a disheartening (0–6) hole.
Meanwhile on Court #5, the mixed doubles duo of Andriana Duran and Eric Swarbrick started off as if they were going to make their first varsity start a memorable one as Andriana's effective low serves and returns paired with Eric's aggressive play at the net jump started them to an early lead (5–2), but they couldn't put their opponents away as they dropped three games in a row, and eventually lost the set (6–7) in a tie breaker (6–8). This huge momentum shift turned the match around, and the proverbial roof fell in during the second set (1–6) to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.
In the singles matches on the boys' side, it was more of the same as Kyle and David, playing at #5 and #6 respectively at least showed consistency as each fell by identical (1–6, 1–6) scores. At #2, Jacob also lost in straight sets (2–6, 4–6) to a super–champ qualified Chap newcomer. The match of the day on the boys' side however, was at #1 singles where Greg faced off on court #1 against the highest ranked player on either team whom he had upset in a third–set tie breaker at the Westlake Tennis Center last fall. This year, in a demonstration of the accuracy of the old aphorism that "turnabout is fair play", the Chap's #1 player jumped out to a quick first set win (2–6), but Greg turned things around to even the match with a hard–fought win (6–4) in the second set. In the third set tiebreaker, the applause from the appreciative gallery was loud and long, as both players hit some remarkable shots, but big serves on key points and some amazing top spin lobs to grab points that Greg seemed poised to win put the match in Westlake's burgeoning win column by a (4–10) score.
In the girls' singles draw, Amy at #1 and Carol at #3 had their hands full with Westlake's talented Freshman two–some, and fell in straight sets by (4–6, 0–6 ) and (0–6, 2–6) scores respectively. After the visitors had claimed their 10th match of the tournament, which made it statistically impossible for the home team to rally and win, the match format was shortened to an 8–game pro–set, (and in some cases one 6–game set). Even so, the host Bulldogs were unable to break through on the boys' side as Caleb fell by a (1–8) count, and Jason was fed an (0–6) "bagel" (w/o any creamed cheese even) by his veteran Chap opponent.
On the girls' side, however, after Andriana dropped her pro set (0–8) at #6, things began to look up at as Laura (at #5) battled her Chap opponent to the proverbial bitter end before she fell (6–7) in a (4–7) tiebreaker, and at #2 Summer avenged a loss in last falls' team tennis match at Westlake w/a 6–3 win against a veteran Lady "Chap" foe to finally put something in the win column for the home team, Megan then closed the scoring with a bagel (8–0 ) win of her own to make the final match count (2–17) in favor of the visitors and leave the home team with lots of room for improvement with another match against a tough opponent coming up the next day at the Bulldog Tennis center.