Thanks to Maranatha for this report
Girls Tennis:
The Lady Minutemen had two entries that made it through to the final day of the Olympic League Individuals Tournament – the No. 2 seeded Stella Hsieh in singles and the No. 3 seeded Amanda Yee and Kasey McCoy in doubles. Hsieh was playing in the championship match against the No. 1 seed, Jenelle Liu of Geffen Academy at UCLA, while Yee and McCoy faced the No. 5 seed, Keemia Kossari and Hannah Doran of Heritage Christian, in the doubles consolation match.
What should have been a high-level singles final between the league’s two best players, turned out to be a painful exercise for both Liu and Hsieh in how to handle nerves. Neither player could overcome the jitters, with both hitting unforced error after unforced error, along with a plethora of double faults. There was an occasional decent rally and an occasional winner, but the level of play was nothing like it usually is when these two play against one another. It seems the magnitude of the occasion got the best of them.
But someone had to win, and it was Liu who was able to stay a little more composed, especially in the clutch moments. Most of the games in each set went to several deuces before Liu was able to hang on a little longer.
Both Liu and Hsieh will go on to represent the Olympic League in the CIF-SS Individuals Sectional Tournament, the largest of its kind in the nation. They each will seek to learn from this experience, so they can hopefully play the Individuals at the level they are capable of playing.
Yee and McCoy’s match was for 3rd place and the right to be the alternate team for the Sectionals, in case one of the top two teams in the league cannot participate. Yee/McCoy jumped out early to secure a 6-2 first-set victory, playing consistent tennis. Kossari/Doran responded with a sense of urgency, making it a point to control the net. That resulted in a convincing 6-1 victory in the second set.
After jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the third and final set, Yee/McCoy responded with more inspired play of their own, as they knew their backs were against the wall. Playing with more energy and intention, they managed to scratch and claw their way back to take a 5-4 lead. The next game was filled with 9 deuces and several match points before Kossari/Doran evened the score at 5-5.
Yee/McCoy pulled ahead once more, 6-5, but Kossari/Doran responded to force a third-set tie-break. In the tie-break, Kossari/Doran jumped out to a 5-2, then a 6-3 lead, before Yee/McCoy staved off 3 match points to knot things at 6-6. As they had committed to from the second set on, Kossari/Doran aimed to control the net, and won, 8-6, on a put-away from a Kossari poach.
The 2-hour thriller was the day’s final match, and a fitting end to an exciting tournament. The oft-used phrase that it’s a pity someone had to lose is certainly apropos here. Both teams deserved to win.
Next up for the Lady Minutemen is a return to team play as the nation’s largest high school team tennis tournament, the CIF-SS Team Playoffs get underway next week. The draw will be revealed on Monday, November 1.
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