Photo of Kasey McCoy and Esmee Eaton courtesy of Amanda Lin

Thanks to Maranatha for this report

Girls Tennis:

In their sixth consecutive road match, the young Lady Minutemen squad continued their upward trajectory, with doubles playing their best overall tennis of the young season.

Facing a squad very similar in strength and talent distribution to San Gabriel HS, Maranatha’s doubles well remembered going 1-8 against SGHS’s doubles, including 0-3 in the crucial 3rd round, when the match was on the line.

They were determined to not let that happen again today, battling the entire way, especially in the third round to decide the match.

No. 1 doubles, Kasey McCoy/Esmee Eaton, played their best tennis and swept, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.

In their 2nd set, they faced the Moors’ best team and fell behind, 1-3, before mounting a comeback, winning the final five games and playing attacking tennis.

No. 2 doubles, Mia Huang/Mia Su, surrendered a 4-3 lead in the first set, to lose 4-6, before doubling down in their focus and consistency to win the final 2 sets, 6-2, 6-3.

No. 3 doubles, Marie Wolfrum/Nelli Breuer, also played their best tennis.

They only won one set, but what a set that was. In the final set of the 1st round, with Maranatha trailing, 2-3 overall, both doubles teams traded late leads in the set.

Wolfrum/Breuer were ahead 5-4, but then surrendered the lead, falling behind, 5-6.

They forced a tie-breaker and pulled out a huge 7-6(5) win for MHS, to even the match at 3-3.

The second round is where the Lady Minutemen made their move, going 4-2 to put MHS ahead, 7-5, after 2 rounds.

The teams split the final round, 3-3, with Huang/Su clinching Maranatha’s 10th point with a 6-3 victory.

All the doubles sets today were battles, but MHS’s doubles teams were up to the task, winning six of nine sets.

Maranatha’s singles lineup also battled, but came up short against a more consistent brand of tennis, going 4-5.

By far, No. 2 singles, Natalie Arminak, had the longest day on the courts, with long tense rallies in all her sets.

She had to work for every point, causing her some physical and mental fatigue.

Though each set was long and close, she was only able to pull out one win, 6-3; yet that one victory was the difference in the overall match score.

No. 3, Kathryn Khalil, also played her hardest, but was unable to secure a victory.

Thankfully for Maranatha, their top player, Stella Hsieh, wasn’t daunted by the Moors’ consistent play.

She responded by playing calm, methodical, and deliberate tennis, imposing her will on her opponents and keeping them on their defensive heels.

Her surgical play garnered her a sweep, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0, giving her team 3 crucial points.

This was a match that the Lady Minutemen would have lost two weeks ago.

Today showed that they are on the right track.

If they keep up their improvement, they could actually be in the hunt for an Olympic League title, a longshot at the beginning of the season.

They’ll get a gauge of where they stand in the league, as they will get tested right away on Tuesday in the Olympic League opener against the Village Christian Crusaders, one of the contenders for the league championship.

It will be Maranatha’s first “home” match, and will be played at Pasadena High School at 3:30 p.m.

Today’s win improved the MHS record to 3-3.