Thanks to Maranatha High School for this report
Pictured: Stella Hsieh
Girls Tennis:
In their third match of the season, Maranatha battled the heat, as well as Monrovia’s home court advantage, to narrowly defeat the Wildcats, 10-8, in a hard-fought match that lasted nearly 3 1/2 hours.
MHS’s singles and doubles squads each went 5-4, and each paced by sweeps at the No. 1 positions.
Maranatha’s No. 1 singles player, Stella Hsieh, overcame an 0-3 deficit in her first set against Monrovia’s No. 1 to reel off 18 of the next 19 games she played on the day (6-3, 6-1, 6-0).
Once she settled down, she was in complete control the rest of the way.
No. 3, Audrey Loh (1-6, 6-1, 6-0), really came through, winning 2 of her 3 sets.
Knowing the Lady Minutemen would need a victory from her in her final set, she gritted out a 6-1 victory, despite playing with an injury.
No.2, Amanda Yee, had a couple of close battles, but fell just short today (0-6, 4-6, 4-6).
Maranatha’s No. 1 doubles team, Kasey McCoy/Violet Salvo, dominated their opponents (6-2, 6-1, 6-1).
Both new to the team, McCoy and Salvo continued to develop their on-court chemistry and continue to improve their play each week.
No. 2 doubles, Riley McCoy/Stella Chen almost matched the No. 1’s, playing great tennis and winning their first two sets, 6-2, 6-1.
They were ahead 5-1 in their final set, but the Wildcats mounted a comeback and pulled out a 7-6(8) victory, denying McCoy/Chen of a sweep.
Today was the debut of No. 3 doubles for the Lady Minutemen, as Esmee Eaton/Helena Chen) played the first matches of their careers.
Chen, a newcomer to tennis, is a late addition to the team, having just joined the team yesterday.
Eaton, a newcomer herself, led the way, playing inspired tennis, often covering the entire the court.
Though they didn’t win a set, they came close (4-6, 3-6, 3-6).
Maranatha (Div. 5) enters the most brutal stretch of their season next week, playing back-to-back-to-back against defending CIF-SS Division 5 champions, La Salle (now Div. 3) on Tuesday, South Pasadena (Div. 2) on Wednesday, and San Gabriel (Div. 5) on Thursday.