The Mount Si girls tennis team capped a busy week on Thursday, April 15, recording their first win of the season.
Mount Si took five of seven matches against the Sammamish Totems to take the victory, led by a doubles sweep. The Wildcats’ number-two doubles’ tandem of Lindsay Masters and Trina Eck made short work of Sammamish opponents Lydia Rebrik and Elizabeth Kuzmenko, winning two sets to none by the scores of 6-3 and 6-1. The other two doubles matches were a bit tighter, however.
In number-one doubles, Mount Si’s Gianni Lombardo and Natalie Knoetgen split their first two sets with Sammamish’s Megan Baker and Morwena Probertfoster forcing a third set, which the Wildcat pair took to grab the match. Scores were 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.
In the number-three doubles set, Rachel Swamy and Emily Sisk rallied from a first set loss to take sets two and three in tiebreakers to grab their match with the Totems’ Chin Tang and Ella Kuzmenko. Scores were 5-7, 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker) and 10-8 in favor of the Mount Si duo.
Jodie Magnuson (6-0, 6-4 over Nicole Regan) and Bailey Barnard (6-1, 6-1 over Melanie Patterson) won singles matches for the Wildcats. The two losses for the Wildcats were recorded by Shelby Thomas and Kaitlyn Usselman. Thomas fell to Sammamish star Anissa Bryant-Swift 0-6, 2-6 and Usselman fell by that same score to Malia Lum of the Totems.
The win over Sammamish closed out a busy week for Mount Si, which included a shutout at the hands of Newport last Tuesday, April 13. The Knights took all seven matches played. Losses came as well against Garfield and Juanita. In the match last Monday, April 12, against the Rebels, Magnuson was the lone winner for Mount Si, a 7-5, 6-2 decision over Juanita’s Tennessee Taylor in singles action. Usselman had a three-set nail biter against the Rebels’ Sarah Salmonson, but the Wildcat fell in that contest 6-7, 6-3, 3-6.
Garfield match
In the match against Garfield, last Wednesday, April 14, Mount Si winners were Barnard, a 6-7 (7-2 tiebreak), 6-2, 10-1 three-set result over the Bulldogs’ Catherine Most, and Eck and Jessica Buyers in doubles, with a 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) decision over Garfield’s Marianna Salia and Anna Cai.
Wildcat coach Eric Hanson has been pleased with Barnard’s play thus far.
“It’s been a real bright spot for us,” Hanson said.
For Buyers and her teammates, playing all this extra tennis — the team usually plays two matches per week — requires some changes to routine.
“It’s definitely important that we come out earlier than usual to warm up because we don’t have practices every day,” Buyers said.
Teammate Michelle Whims thinks focus is key.
“You’ve got to have a good attitude about things and just really give it your all,” Whims said.
Mount Si had a great trip across the Cascades last Saturday, April 17, taking a pair of contests with Yakima-area schools.
The Wildcats took four of seven matches against Wapato, then took five of seven against host Selah. Mount Si’s victory against Wapato came as the result of a sweep of the singles contests, while the Wildcats dominated in both singles and doubles against Selah.
Barnard was among three Wildcat singles players who won both matches of their twin bills yesterday; Barnard beat Wapato’s Alina Gutierrez 6-0, 6-1 then took care of Selah’s Megan Schrenk 6-3, 6-1. Usselman and Magnuson also took their doubleheaders as well.
The doubles action was highlighted by a 6-1, 6-4 win by the Wildcat doubles team of Whims and Lindsay Masters over Selah’s Kily Barthlow and Whitney Bertleson.
Look for the team to improve as the season continues.
“I expect us to be more competitive in the second half (of the season),” Hanson said.
