Girls Tennis:
Thanks to Maranatha for this report
With two starters as last-minute scratches, the Lady Minutemen were forced to adjust their lineup and insert their two alternates, both new to the sport of tennis.
It was already going to be a tough task to defeat the Matadors, who beat Maranatha last season for the first time, 11-7.
The task would now be harder; everything would have to go their way, as their margins for error were razor thin.
Each player knew what they had to do to give Maranatha an opportunity to edge their opponents.
Perhaps that knowledge got into their heads a bit, as they fell behind early on most courts.
San Gabriel struck early, with two doubles wins against No. 3 alternates Madison White/Doria Chen and No. 2 Diana Sarksyan/Laura Garabedian (6-4, 6-4).
No. 3 Kathryn Khalil, a late insertion into the singles lineup, responded with a 6-2 win.
No. 1 Mia Huang/Mia Su were in a nip and tuck affair, falling just short in an exciting tie-breaker, 6-7(6), giving the Matadors a 3-1 lead.
No. 1 Natalie Arminak and No. 2 Grace Yang both faced major deficits, 3-5 and 1-5 respectively.
It looked all but certain that San Gabriel would take a 5-1 lead into the 2nd round of play.
But both players made strategic adjustments, forcing a new style of play on their opponents.
Slowly but surely, they each started the uphill climb, until they evened up their sets at 6-6, both forcing tie-breakers.
Arminak rode her momentum to a 7-0 tie-break win, while Yang took a more dramatic approach, opening a 3-1 lead, only to fall behind 3-4.
The tie-breaker was knotted up a 5-5 before Yang pulled out a 7-5 victory, improbably evening the overall match score at 3-3, with doubles going 0-3 and singles going 3-0.
Those first round tests seemed to sharpen bring confidence to Arminak and Yang, as they played a more focused and resolute brand of tennis thereafter, each securing 6-0 victories in the 2nd round.
Huang/Su and Sarksyan/Garabedian also got into the act with 6-4 wins apiece, giving MHS a 7-5 lead after the second round.
The Lady Minutemen closed out the match with an impressive and dominant singles sweep, with Arminak and Yang supplying two more 6-0 wins and Khalil winning 6-1.
Huang/Su then closed out the match, matching Khalil’s 6-1 scoreline.
Today’s win gives Maranatha a 2-0 record to open the season.
Their next match is on Tuesday at Blair High School.
Photo of Diana Sarksyan and Laura Garabedian courtesy of Amanda Lin.
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