Ross tennis player Olivia Henry speaks with coach Lisa Wolfe during her match in No. 2 singles Monday against Clyde.
FREMONT – Playing in the last match of the day to be determined, all eyes were on Olivia Henry.
Henry and her Fremont Ross girls tennis team were tied with Clyde in matches won, 2-2, and she was staring at a 0-40 deficit and the prospect of seeing her second set against Siera Hisey becoming tied at 4-4.
Conceding the next point and the game, however, isn’t in her vocabulary.
Though the match had extended well into two hours in 80-plus degree weather, Henry fought back. She picked up the next three points then battled back through Hisey’s three ad-ins before taking the game. Henry ended the match just a few minutes later, 6-3, 6-3, and lifted the Lady Giants to a 3-2 win over the Fliers.
“Just keep pushing, never settle, never let a point go by that I didn’t try for, that’s my biggest thing,” said Henry, now 3-0 at No. 2 singles. “I work hard in whatever I do. I do my best.
“If I’m down, (it’s) one point at time, keep pushing through and if I don’t get the game, I don’t get it.”
Also read: Girls tennis preview: Singles battle will make Lady Giants a better team
Ross coach Lisa Wolfe was impressed by Henry’s mental fortitude, knowing the spotlight was on her, along with the pressure that accompanies it.
“I’m extremely proud of her mental game today,” Wolfe said of the senior. “A big difference from last year’s Olivia to right now is her maturity level, the ability to take the pressure of knowing ‘It’s 2-2 and I’m going to be deciding whether we win or lose.’
“It takes the mental toughness of plugging away every point. Every point counts.”
Ross’ Gillian Gallagher lunges for the ball in her No. 1 singles match Monday against Clyde.
The table for Henry’s winner-take-all match was set by her singles teammates, Gillian Gallagher and Lily Abdoo.
Gallagher, a junior, swept her No. 1 singles match against Saylor Meyer, 6-0, 6-0. Gallagher’s season record improved to 2-1.
“I felt good, it was a good match, she was a good player but, overall, consistency will win you the match and that’s what I tried to do,” Gallagher said. “Hit it where they’re not. We have to work on it more and hopefully we’ll pull out some wins this season.”
Abdoo (3-0), playing at No. 3 singles, recovered after a slow start to defeat Paige Brown, 6-3, 6-0.
“I lost the very first game and it was just because I made stupid mistakes,” Abdoo said. “From then on, I realized what I needed to, just to be patient. That’s what coach always tells us, especially with singles, just be patient and that’s what I did and how I ended up winning.”
Ross’ Sophia Biggins returns a serve in a No. 2 doubles match Monday afternoon.
While the Lady Giants have gone 8-1 in singles play in their first three matches, the doubles teams have yet to sort themselves out. Ross’ Berlin Swaisgood and Lillie Swinehart lost in No. 1 doubles, 0-6, 0-6 while the No. 2 doubles team of Natalie Brown and Sophia Biggins fell 2-6, 5-7.
“Unfortunately, right now, doubles aren’t producing for us. It’s not that we can’t make that happen with more practice. …I have not seen much communication and things you need to have as doubles player, so we have to work on the fundamentals of playing doubles.”
Ross is 2-1 overall on the young season and returns to action Thursday at home against Oak Harbor at 4:30 p.m.
Junior varsity results:
Doubles: Jurni Kidd/Taylor Sachs (FR) def. Mary Wilkerson/McKenzi Woessner (C), 6-2.
Doubles: Hali Hagemeyer/Clori Hackenburg (C) def. Jurni Kidd/Taylor Sachs (FR), 5-6.
Singles: Emma Jahns (FR) def. Emma Strudthoff (C), 6-3.
Singles: Emma Jahns (FR) def. Ellie Pierce (C), 6-3.
Singles: Vivyanna Esquivel (FR) def. Averie Fritz (C), 6-3.
Doubles: Vivyanna Esquivel/Isabella Atkinson (FR) def. Amber Fay/Klara Miller, 6-1.
Double: Vivyanna Esquivel/Isabella Atkinson (FR) def. Abbey Marcha/Gabby Castillo, 6-0.