Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%..
Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.
Updated: April 9, 2026 @ 10:50 pm
Carlmont’s No. 1 singles player Annika Lin hits a return during her three-set win in the Scots’ victory over Aragon.
Both the Carlmont and Aragon girls’ tennis teams are seemingly always in the mix to grab one of the three playoff spots reserved for Bay Division teams in the Peninsula Athletic League team tournament at the end of the regular season.
The two got a chance to find out where they stand early in the season as they were matched up in the PAL Bay Division opener in Belmont Thursday.
It appears the Scots are poised to contend once again. The Dons? They have some work to do after Carlmont recorded a clean sweep, 7-0.
“It’s never easy,” said Carlmont coach Margaret Goldsmith. “The girls stayed steady.”
The win was the first high school victory for Goldsmith, who took over the Scots’ program this season. But winning is not foreign to Goldsmith, who has coached at Ralston Middle School for the last 16 years.
Goldsmith’s time in the middle school ranks gives her a deeper insight into her first high school team, considering she coached nine of the 10 starters in junior high.
One of her most accomplished former students is Carlmont sophomore Annika Lin, who started at No. 1 singles as a freshman last season.
Lin proved to be among the best in the PAL in 2016 and she is prepared to take the next step this season. She got off to impressive start, beating Aragon senior Diana Gong in a third-set, super-tiebreaker, 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), (10-4).
“Against Diana, it’s more about being consistent,” Lin said of her strategy of playing one of the league’s heaviest hitters.
“I was looking forward to (playing her).”
Lin, a little bit taller and stronger this season, stood in well and traded booming baseline shots with Gong.
“I definitely trained more this summer and played in more tournaments,” Lin said.
Goldsmith saw one of Lin’s matches last season, but said her No. 1 singles player hasn’t changed much since middle school.
“She has always been very focused,” Goldsmith said. “She is fierce. Annika just continues to impress me.”
The No. 1 singles match was just one of three that went to three sets, the others being at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Aragon coach Dave Owdom believes doubles is where his team’s strength lies and to lose all three is not the start for which he was looking.
“I thought we’d do better in doubles,” Owdom said. “Our team isn’t real strong in singles, except for [Gong].”
At No. 2 doubles, Carlmont’s Saanika Johi and Lily Gittoes took the first set from Annie Martin and Emma Clarke, 6-2, but the Aragon tandem rallied to win the second set, 7-5. Carlmont closed out the match in the third, 6-4.
The Aragon pair of Yasmin Malouf and Aretha Chen took the first set from Kathryn Nguyen and Kelly Doherty, but the Carlmont duo won the next two sets with relative ease, 6-1 and 6-3.
It was Nguyen and Doherty’s point that clinched the team match with the Scots’ fourth point.
Sandra Strongin and Dani Dinulos were pushed to a first-set tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles by Aragon’s Kelsey Dobbs and Keertana Namuduri. But the Carlmont team blitzed the Dons in the tiebreaker, winning at love, 7-0. The Scots then completed the doubles sweep by winning the second set 6-2.
Carlmont’s Juhi Mehta cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles, while Sakina Bambot took a 6-0, 6-2 decision at No. 2 singles. Alyssa Nguyen won at No. 4 singles for the Scots, 6-2, 6-3.
“Carlmont is a good team,” Owdom said. “We knew we’d have a tough time.”
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CA Is Burning said:
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CA Is Burning said:
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Rick Bonilla said:
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