The Arroyo Grande High girls tennis team overcame illness and a game Capistrano Valley team to win their CIF-Southern Section Division 3 home quarterfinal match 11-7 on Monday.
Arroyo Grande coach Lori Hollister said Sophie Whittle battled through a stomach ailment in her 7-6 (7-3) win over Capistrano Valley’s top singles player, Katie Tan. Whittle came back to win two more times, 7-5 and 6-0, to sweep her singles sets.
“Words can’t really describe the level of fight this AG team showed throughout this nail-biting match, “ Hollister said in an email. “Capistrano Valley was a deep, well-coached team and the girls had to dig into their guts more than I have ever witnessed in a tennis playoff to get this win. I couldn’t be more proud as a coach of their overall team effort and finish.”
The Eagles clinched the match when Melina Rodgers and Joanne Phung earned a 7-5 win in doubles.
The doubles team of Amber Domako and Zoe Miller swept their three matches 7-5, 6-4, 6-4, and Lauren Hayashi picked up two wins in singles for the Eagles (19-1). Alex Mero added a singles win, and the doubles team of Alexis Flood and Chelsea Pudwill picked up a win.
Arroyo Grande advances to Wednesday’s Division 3 semifinals at 2 p.m., where it will host Aliso Niguel, which beat Santiago in a quarterfinal match Monday.
