Scots beat pain, Panthers

And now Gittoes’ left leg was bothering her. She moved gingerly along the baseline, but summoned enough willpower to finish off the second set and force a third.

Llewelyn had been here before. Her three-set win over Aragon last week gave the Panthers a 4-3 win. And with Gittoes ailing, it was a prime chance for Llewelyn close out another match.

There was some doubt Gittoes could continue, but she managed to hang in there. Both Gittoes and Llewelyn stayed on serve for the first four games of the third set before Gittoes found a second wind. She went on to win four straight games to post a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.

As far the Scots were concerned, it was a case of game, set, and match as the win gave Carlmont its fourth point and a 4-3 win for the Scots.

“I’ve never defaulted before. This was cutting it close,” Gittoes said.

Carlmont’s win keeps the PAL Bay Division a jumbled mess. After undefeated Menlo-Atherton, Aragon, Burlingame, Carlmont and San Mateo are all 2-2.

“I felt like at the top (of the Carlmont lineup), their 1 and 2 (singles players) are stellar,” said Burlingame head coach Bill Smith. “So it looked like we were fighting for 4 of the last 5 (matches).

“We fought.”

As did Gittoes. Carlmont head coach Margaret Goldsmith said Gittoes tweaked her leg lunging for a return, this after suffering a pinched nerve in her neck last week that is still not completely healed.

“She really had to hustle and work hard,” Goldsmith said, who admitted she thought Gittoes would default. “I thought it was a fantastic effort.”

Llewelyn jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first set. Gittoes stabilized a little bit, but Llewelyn never gave up her break to take the first set 6-4.

In the second, it was Gittoes who got out to the big early lead, 4-1, but then her leg started acting up.

Llewelyn took advantage. She won four straight games, getting two service breaks in the process to take a 5-4 lead and was serving for the match.

But Gittoes broke back, tying the match at 5-all. It was the first of a three-game run for Gittoes, who held on for a 7-5 win in the second set.

In the third, Gittoes started picking her spots, hoping to end points when she saw an opening.

“In the first set, I was too impatient,” Gittoes said. “In the third set, I tried to wait until I got something I liked.”

Gittoes’ win turned out to be pivotal because Burlingame’s No. 1 doubles team of Annika Ganguly and Molly Wachhorst pulled out a three-set win of their own, beating Carlmont’s Simone Beilin and Naya Salah 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 6-2.

The team match went in spurts, with Carlmont (2-1 PAL Bay) winning the first three matches off the courts.

Annika Lin had little trouble at No. 1 singles, giving the Scots their first team point with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. Carlmont’s No. 3 doubles team of Anjali Metha and Mira Bhatt followed soon after, posting a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

The Scots took a 3-0 lead when Nikhila Raman came away with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles.

But Burlingame rallied back. The No. 2 doubles team of Kaleia Daga and Sophia Roberts got the Panthers on the board with a 6-2, 6-1 win and Vedika Bhaumik won 7-5, 6-2 at No. 4 singles to cut the Carlmont team lead to 3-2 with the No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles matches left to decide the outcome, with Gittoes clinching the match for the Scots.

“I feel a lot better, especially with the win,” Gittoes said.