Following their loss against Mountain House High School, the Los Banos Tigers women’s tennis team pulled off a hard-fought 5-4 victory over Dos Palos on Aug. 27.
The Tigers’ singles players looked comfortable and strong on the court. The ranking of the singles players are sophomore Julianne Gurgen at one, senior April Cunha at two, junior Kambria Moore at three, sophomore Gaby Romo at four, senior Ava Felix at five, and senior Tiffany Tovar at six. Overall, the Tigers singles won the team the game. They won 5 out of 6 of their singles matches which gave them the upside.
Gurgen won in two sets 7-6 and 6-2 against Dos Palos senior, Kenya Cortez. Cunha lost her match in two sets 0-6 and 2-6. Moore won her match in two sets 6-4 and 6-3. Romo won her match in two sets 6-3 and 6-1. Felix won her match in two sets 7-5 and 6-1. And lastly Tovar easily won her match in two sets 6-0 and 6-1.
While the singles had success, the doubles teams did not do so well.
All three teams lost their matches. The doubles teams are junior Zoey Wooten and sophomore Grace Orozco at one, sophomore Stephanie Martinez and sophomore Melissa Fernandez at two, and senior Allisandra Ortiz and sophomore Lila Amabile at three. The Tigers will need to improve their doubles teams if they want to have a successful season.
Wooten and Orozco lost their match in two sets 6-0 and 6-2. Martinez and Fernandez lost their match in a battle of three sets. The scores were 3-6, 7-6, and 8-10. They fought very hard to the last point but could not get the win. Ortiz and Amabile lost their match in two sets 0-6 and 2-6.
Unfortunately, the Tigers will not have one of their most valuable players this season. Senior, Melina Mejia, suffered a torn ACL during a basketball game. Mejia would have been the number one singles player this season.
Last year, Mejia took it all the way at the league finals doubles tournament hosted by Mountain House High School. Her skill was very impressive for both doubles and singles. The Tigers then went on to go all the way to section championships, which they ended up losing to Placer 3-6.
With Mejia out, the Tigers will need to step up and work very hard this season to make it back to the finals.
The Tigers are moving from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to the Central California Conference (CCC). This division will feature tougher teams such as Merced High School, Golden Valley High School, Atwater High School, El Capitan High School, and Buhach Colony High School.
This will be a challenge for the Tigers. There is still some time before the season starts which means the Tigers will need to stay focused and improve for when the league begins.
Player improvement starts with coaching. Head coach Alexis Barcellos has had a successful coaching career. Many of her players have high praise for their coach.
When asked what her impact has been towards new players, first year player, sophomore Mikayla Luna, stated, “Ms. Barcellos is a good visual coach, she demonstrates the questions I have and takes the time to improve each and every one of us. You can see her passion for tennis the second she grabs the racket.” Coach Barcellos truly does have a love for the game.
The next match will be at Los Banos High School against Oakdale on Sept. 3, at 3 p.m.
