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CLYDE – The Ross girls tennis season-opener was a bit of a mixed bag for the Lady Giants.

Despite a couple rough spot, Ross pulled out a neck-and-neck duel match against Clyde to win its season-opener, 3-2, over the Fliers as four flights required some sort of tie-breaker.

Gillian Gallagher

Berlin Swaisgood

“They (Clyde) have a lot of talent on their team,” Ross coach Lisa Wolfe said. “Obviously very compatible teams with four different tie-breakers in a set.”

The Lady Giants won the match thanks to sweeping the singles flights.

Gillian Gallagher, who posted a 10-1 record last year at No. 1 singles, easily handled her opponent, Lakota Cagle, 6-3, 6-2, in the only lopsided match of the day.

“I liked what I saw from Gilli,” Wolfe said. “There are a few things we’ll work on in practice tomorrow, but she handled her court well. That’s great for a No. 1 singles.”

At No. 3 singles, Berlin Swaisgood fell into an early hole into the first set of her match before battling back to win the set 7-6 (7-5). Swaisgood then played nearly mistake-free tennis to grind down her opponent, Madi Bannister, 6-2 in the second set.

“In the second set she was just Berlin being Steady Eddie,” Wolfe said. “She’s not going to give up. There is so much trust in Berlin at No. 3 singles and that’s a carry-over from last year.”

Lily Abdoo returns a shot in her No. 2 singles match at Clyde Monday.

Playing at No. 2 singles, Lily Abdoo and her opponent, Siera Hisey, were the last varsity match playing, with Ross having won the singles matches but lost both doubles, the winner of the match would clinch the victory for

her team.

Abdoo was in good position early, winning the first set 6-1, but a few unforced errors and missed shots allowed Hisey to force, and then win, a second set tiebreaker, forcing a third set super-tiebreaker to 10 with the match on the line.

“The only thing I said to her at the fence (before the third set) was ‘I need you, the team needs you,’ so I think she picked up on that,” Wolfe said. “I don’t ever want to say to a kid, ‘It’s 2-2 and the match is on your shoulders,’ but with ‘We need you,’ you can give or take whatever you want from that.”

With all eyes on her, Abdoo rose to the occasion, winning the third set, 10-7, putting away the match and giving the Lady Giants the season-opening win.

Lily Abdoo

“I think Lily would have normally taken care of business and not have had to go through all that,” Wolfe said. “But, she pulled it out in the end and was very successful, so I have to give her kudos for that, for being able to wrap up that match.”

While Wolfe was pleased her team got the season off on the right foot with a victory, she said a lot of work remains to be done with her doubles teams.

Sophia Biggins, the only returning varsity player to suit up in doubles, and her partner, Izzy Atkinson, lost in three sets at No. 1 doubles, 1-6, 6-4, 5-10. At No. 2 doubles, Vivyanna Esquivel and Lillie Swinehart dropped their match 2-6, 6-7 (5-7).

“We’ll tweak the doubles a little bit,” Wolfe said. “I didn’t anything that I saw on the doubles end of it as far as communication with each other. We’ll get some teams that know how to play doubles with each other, or can communicate. Tonight didn’t fly for me.”

The Lady Giants were originally slated to return to the court Tuesday for their home-opener against SJCC but that match has been postponed until Wednesday, Sept. 12. Ross’ next match is Wednesday hosting Sylvania Southview at 4 p.m.

 

 
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