Thanks to Maranatha tennis for this report
Girls Tennis:
When the 2022 season started, the Lady Minutemen set a few goals for themselves knowing they would be a stretch.
But at least it was something to aim for.
Among them were to finish in the top 3 in the Olympic League in order to make the playoffs.
After that looked probable, they decided to raise their goal to win the league title.
Then they wanted to try to go undefeated in league.
Then came their loftiest goal: to make it to the second week of the CIF-SS D4 playoffs. Check. Check. Check. Check.
To those who follow Maranatha sports, those goals may seem low and are often assumed for the tennis program.
But to do so would be to take what this team has done for granted and would rob them of the credit due them.
With 10 underclassmen, 9 of which are brand new to the team and brand new to competitive tennis, the leaps they have taken this year from their first practice to now have been the biggest Coach Arthur Hsieh has seen in his 10 years at the helm of the program.
In today’s 2nd round match against the No. 5 ranked, 13-2, Redlands East Valley (REV) Wildcats, the Lady Minutemen knew they had a formidable opponent in front of them.
The Wildcats easily disposed of their first round opponent, Adelanto, 14-4, while Maranatha narrowly edged Quartz Hill, 11-7.
Having to play on back-to-back days, Maranatha players were sore and tired from their intense match the previous day, while REV had a day to rest.
Yet, that would not stop the Lady Minutemen from fighting for their goal.
The first round was hotly contested, with Maranatha jumping out to a 2-0 lead behind 6-0 sets from #1 Stella Hsieh and #3 Audrey Loh.
Both played lights out tennis in sets that were far more difficult than the score indicates.
That lead vanished after REV defeated MHS’s #2 singles, Natalie Arminak, and #1 doubles, Kasey McCoy/Esmee Eaton, 6-0, 6-1, respectively.
No. 3 doubles, Nelli Breuer/Marie Wolfrum gave Maranatha its third point, with a 6-3 win.
That left #2 Mia Huang/Mia Su to decide if the match would be tied after the 1st round, or if MHS would hold a lead.
Playing from behind nearly the entire set, Huang/Su were able to make mid-set adjustments to change the tide, tying the score late, and then eventually pulling away, 7-5, to give Maranatha a 4-2 lead.
The Lady Minutemen went 1-2 in singles in the 2nd round, with Hsieh posting their only win, 6-0.
However, in a repeat of yesterday’s match, McCoy/Eaton rebounded from a forgettable first set to dominate their next set, 6-0.
Breuer/Wolfrum continued to build Maranatha’s momentum with an impressive, 6-1, win; while Huang/Su fought tooth and nail to upset REV’s top doubles team, 7-5.
That gave doubles a sweep, giving MHS a commanding 8-4 lead.
The Wildcats closed the gap to 8-5 with a No. 1 singles win over Loh; but then the avalanche came, with Arminak, Hsieh, and McCoy/Eaton posting 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 wins within minutes of each other to give the Lady Minutemen an insurmountable 11-5 lead.
With the victory in hand, both teams brought in their substitutes, as Kathryn Khalil/Diana Sarksyan and Wolfrum/Sofia Celis each were defeated, 6-2.
The Lady Minutemen continue their season on Monday in a quarterfinal round showdown with the 12-3 Paloma Valley Wildcats, who upset No. 4 Ontario Christian, 9-9 (82-75) today.
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