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Nathan Mollat / Daily Journal
Tereza Dvorak, half of Carlmont’s No. 2 doubles team along with Megan Lehmkuhl, lines up a return during a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over St. Ignatius. The Wildcats, however, went on to win the CCS first-round match, 5-2. |
Much like nearly every other sport, the West Catholic Athletic League boasts more league depth in girls’ tennis than most public-school leagues.
So even though the St. Ignatius team finished middle of the pack in the WCAL, conventional thinking was the Wildcats would have no problem with Carlmont, the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division’s third-place team, in the first round of the Central Coast Section team tournament.
Somebody forgot to tell that to the Scots. Despite losing 5-2 to visiting St. Ignatius, Carlmont gave the Wildcats everything they could handle.
St. Ignatius moves on to play No. 6 Homestead (11-6) in a second-round CCS match Wednesday.
The final score is a bit misleading. St. Ignatius won the first three points of the match handily, but the Wildcats had to fight tooth-and-nail to lock down that deciding team point.
Carlmont won the next match — Dana Lazaro at No. 4 singles — and the Scots’ No. 3 singles and first and second doubles teams split the first two sets with St. Ignatius, setting up a tense finish to the match.
Carlmont’s Tereza Dvorak and Megan Lehmkuhl picked up the Scots’ second point at No. 2 doubles.
Melissa Won at No. 3 singles, and the No. 1 doubles tandem of Brooke Jones and Christine Tataru fell behind early in the third set. All three players battled to the end, but the St. Ignatius pair of Annie Dillon and Alex Love prevailed at No. 1 doubles to give the Wildcats the team win.
Moments later, St. Ignatius’ Beverly Chan finished off Won at No. 3 singles for the final margin of victory.
“(S.I. was) more consistent than we were today (in the those final two matches),” said Carlmont coach Rebecca Pearlman.
Despite the loss, Pearlman was more than pleased with how her team performed.
“I’m so proud. The girls are great fighters,” Pearlman said. “S.I. was the better team today, but we’d love a re-match.”
Carlmont (11-7 overall) took their lumps in the top two singles matches. Zoe Dubrow at No. 1, along with Alex Tataru at No. 2, were overwhelmed in straight sets by St. Ignatius’ Claudia Lew and Penny Chuan, respectively.
The Scots, however, didn’t panic. They’ve been in this position before: Top two singles players dropping their matches.
“They’ve been through that before,” Pearlman said.
Even when the Scots’ No. 3 doubles team, Erin Shields and Lisa Chan, lost in straight sets to Emma O’Leary and Michelle Maciel, it was too be expected. Shields and Chan were late callups from the frosh-soph team, who filled in when the Scots’ No. 2 and No. 3 doubles tandems were blown up by illness late in the season.
“(The S.I. No. 3 doubles team) was just too strong,” Pearlman said.
Down 3-0, the Scots merely dug in their heels and refused to go quietly.
Pearlman was pleasantly surprised by the play of Dvorak and Lehmkuhl at No. 2 doubles. The two were paired together when Pearlman had to juggle her doubles lineup. They responded with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win to give Carlmont some hope.
In other CCS first-round action, Burlingame slipped past Independence 4-3 and will play at No. 7 Milpitas. Sacred Heart Prep handed Scotts Valley its first loss of the season, 5-2, to move into the second round at No. 3 Saratoga. Notre Dame-Belmont also advanced to the second round with a 4-3 win over Salinas. The Tigers don’t have far to travel to take on No. 5 Menlo School.
All second-round matches are 2:30 p.m. today.
Half Moon Bay, the PAL’s undefeated Ocean Division champion, got drilled by visiting Piedmont Hills, 7-0. |