Columbia High divided its two Southwest Washington 1A League girls tennis meets here last week but retained its place atop the standings.
The Bruins defeated the Castle Rock Rockets, 4 matches to 1, on April 18, on the Park Center Courts, but lost to the visiting Montesano Bulldogs last Friday, 3-2.
Emily Lockman and Adilene Isordia prevailed in straight sets in No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, and both of Columbia’s doubles teams won in three sets.
Lockman outdueled Mad-eline Delcastillo, 6-3, 6-1.
“Emily got into a groove after a slow start to pull off the win,” noted Bruins Asst. Coach Tammy Carter.
Isordia won her first set against Cinamin Aalund in convincing fashion, 6-2, but had to give a little extra effort to claim the second set, 7-5.
Alexis Clifford opposed Hanna Lair in No. 3 singles.
“Alexis came up against a really tough opponent that just would give in,” Carter noted.
Lair took the first set, 6-2, then finished Clifford off by winning the second, 7-5.
No. 1 doubles players Rosalyn Slater and Alexa O’Gorman breezed to a 6-0 victory in their first set versus the Rock’s Jenna LaFontaine and Meagan Keeling.
The CHS pair lost their focus in the second set, said Carter, and fell in a tiebreaker, 7-6. The Bruins regained their form in the third set for a 6-3 match-clinching win.
Claudia Hernandez and Mireya Huila, CHS’s No. 2 doubles team, played the longest match of the day, going three hours to defeat Erica Thwaites and Paige Gibson in three sets.
The Bruins led 5-1 in the first set before losing their focus. The Rockets won six games in a row to take the set, 7-5.
Hernandez and Huila did not suffer another lapse in attention. They rallied to win the second set, 6-4, and the third, 6-3, to make it 4-1 final in favor of the Bruins.
“They never gave up,” said Carter. “Last year if they would have lost the first set, they would have just given up, but they have really grown this year and have showed how mature they have become as tennis players.”
Columbia took on Montesano absent its No. 1 singles player and its No. 1 doubles team. As a result, everyone on varsity moved up a position.
Isordia took over for the absent Lockman at No. 1 singles, but more than held her own against the higher level of competition.
Isordia defeated the Bull-dogs’ Rachel Ayres in consecutive sets, 6-4, 6-1.
“I was so proud of Addy. She is always a fighter and never gives up,” Carter said. “She’s hitting her strokes and getting better every day.”
Clifford stepped up to No. 2 singles and beat Emily Bodenhamer in three sets, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4.
“Alexis was great,” Carter noted. “This is her first year playing tennis and she is a natural. She is also getting better every day.”
Emily Plascencia moved up from jayvee to No. 3 singles to take on Fatima Torres. Plascencia lost in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
“This was Emily’s first singles match and she was awesome,” said Carter. “Even though she lost, she gained valuable match play experience.”
In doubles play, Hernandez and Huila carried the No. 1 title versus Danika Peterson and Destiny Miller. The Bruins never got untracked and lost in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.
In No. 2 doubles, MaKenzie Chase and Chloe Mc-Laughlin fell to Jordyn Daniels and Corrina Zapata, 6-4, 6-0.
“Some days you just have one of those days, and this was it for our doubles teams,” Carter said. “They fought hard but just couldn’t get anything going. Maybe it was the first nice day we’ve had for outdoor tennis.”
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