A bit of a rain delay Tuesday only prolonged a match that was quickly in the South Whidbey girls tennis team’s court.
South Whidbey defeated Archbishop Murphy in a Cascade Conference girls tennis meet 5-2, winning three of four singles matches and two of three doubles bouts.
Bayley Gochanour, a sophomore, rallied after losing the first set to win a super tiebreaker 10-7 in what Falcon head coach Karyle Kramer said was the match of the day. Facing Courtney Skalley, Gochanour recovered from losing the first set 6-4. She bounced back and claimed the second set 7-5 to force a third set tiebreaker.
“Bayley just played tough, tough tennis,” Kramer said. “She was down in the second set but came back and secured the win.”
Another Falcon also rallied to win. At the third singles match, junior Kendra Warwick battled Madelyn Hoban in the first set to a 7-2 tiebreaker before cruising in the second set, 6-1.
Facing a game point late in the first set, Warwick fought off Hoban’s serve with a quick rally before claiming the match on her forehand shots.
“She came out strong against a good opponent, “ Kramer said. “Kendra has been working on hitting more solid shots and, like Bayley, playing to win instead of playing not to lose.”
Anna Lynch, a Falcon junior, breezed through the fourth singles match with Natalie Sizelove, winning 6-1, 6-1.
South Whidbey’s first seeds lost their matches. In singles, senior Isla Dubendorf fell to Lauren Braswell, who relied on strong groundstrokes and a powerful first serve to win 7-5, 6-4.
Archbishop Murphy’s top duo of Molly Corbett and Tayler Herrera won 6-3, 7-5 against Falcons Macey Bishop and Iona Rohan.
The Falcons’ second doubles squad of Jen LeRoy and Clara Martin used an up-and-back strategy to force the Wildcats Amy Camilleri and Hannah Van Hollebeke to hit around the net player, with one of the Falcons covering the baseline. It worked, as the Falcon duo won 6-3, 6-3.
In third doubles, Falcon sophomores Carmen Warwick and Taylor Hamilton recovered after dropping the second set to Maddy Williams and Makenna Kunz. Warwick and Hamilton won the super tiebreaker third set 10-7.
On Wednesday, South Whidbey’s fortunes soured against island rival Coupeville in a non-league 3-2 loss. Both singles matches went to the Wolves, with Jacki Ginnings claiming the top bout 6-4, 7-5 over Kendra Warwick, and Valen Trujillo beating Bishop 6-1, 6-2.
The Falcons top two doubles teams won. Dubendorf and Gochanour beat Payton Aparicio and Sage Renninger 6-2, 6-2. LeRoy and Rogan paired up and fought off Coupeville’s Sydney Autio and Mickey Levine 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
The third doubles match proved the difference as Coupeville’s McKenzie Bailey and Jasmine Franklin took down Carmen Warwick and Hamilton 6-2, 6-4.
“Yesterday’s loss provided us with some clear strategies and strokes to work on,” Kramer said.
“I give them credit … They came hungry, wanting the win,” she added in an email after the match.
