Holding a 3-2 lead toward the end of the first round Monday at Rio Mesa in Oxnard, the Arroyo Grande High girls tennis team needed one more win to head into the second round with all the momentum.
The Eagles got it thanks to a 7-5 doubles win by Brianna Flood and Melina Rodgers, and they then won all but one of the second third of sets for a commanding 9-3 advantage.
They held on to beat the Spartans, 11-7, and advance to the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.
“That was the turning point today,” Eagles coach Lori Hollister said. “That really set the stage, and we had all the energy. The girls really fought off some hard sets today.”
In the win over the Pacific View League champions who were 20-0 coming in, Arroyo Grande’s Sophie Whittle continued her outstanding season, sweeping 6-2, 6-1, 6-0.
The first win by Whittle, the 45th-ranked freshman in Southern California, came over the Spartans’ No. 1 player, Audrey Mayer, the 74th-ranked sophomore in the region.
Eagles teammate Lauren Hayashi also gave Mayer a tough set in a 7-6, tiebreaker loss.
Flood and Rodgers went on to sweep in doubles, winning their last two sets 6-4, 6-2, and Maurisa Dominguez and Alexis Flood won two out of three, 6-4, 6-3.
“It’s very special for us getting to the quarterfinals,” Hollister said.
The Eagles (23-1) will host either third-seeded Sage Hill or San Gabriel at 2 p.m. today for a historic chance to move on to the semifinals.
The Tigers’ season came to an end with the close loss to the fourth-ranked Sharks (17-1) in the Division 3 second-round postseason match held at Pepperdine. They ended with a 15-4 overall record.
San Luis Obispo’s Tori Troesch, who last week signed a letter of intent to play at Portland, swept 6-0, 6-2, 6-1. One of her wins came over the Tri-Valley League champion, Britta Mosser, a junior who’s also being recruited at the Division I level.
“She played the best she’s played all season,” coach Gary Etheredge said of Troesch.
The Tigers’ Abigail Will also had a winning day, taking two sets, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2).
In doubles, Lauren Hutkin and Joelle Lewis had 6-3, 6-4 wins.
“I thought we played with a tremendous amount of heart today,” Etheredge said.
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
Be the first to know what's going on in San Luis Obispo County. Just tell us how you want to find out — we'll take care of the rest.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from SanLuisObispo.com and get the latest news sent to your cell phone via text message.
By signing up for alerts from this site, you are signing up for a program that may include up to 5 SMS text alert(s) per alert category per day. There is no service fee charged per month but your carrier's standard text messaging and other charges may apply. You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending the text message "STOP" to 72737. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use our alert services. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you agree that you have received parental permission both to complete the registration process and to receive SMS content on your cell phone. For help, send the text message "HELP" to 72737. This service will work with ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell, US Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Boost, Virgin Mobile USA, Celluar South, Telos, Centennial, East Kentucky Network, Cellcom, Immix and Rural Celluar.
E-mail »
Twitter »
Facebook »
iTribune »
Subscribe »
RSS »
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.