Lady Corsair Tennis Drops Two of Three Matches In Rough Week
It seemed too good to be true, andperhaps it was. This week the Women Tennis team seemed to fly off their high horse with great speed. After the peak of the season with the team winning four of five games, and beating El Camino in an 8-1 triumph, the team lost speed, and finished the week with two punishing loses against Cuesta and Bakersfield.
The El Camino Match was a solid win of 8-1. Outside of the 9-0 win against Allan Hancock a couple weeks ago which gave the Lady Corsairs a push of momentum, it was the largest win this season. All seemed well Tuesday, but a rocky road was in store for the team. Their first turn down this road was in the form of Cuesta College.
Thursday afternoon, Cuesta arrived to find a normally bright and sun soaked Reed Park suddenly heavy and sardonic. The winds were blowing by the beach, and malicious clouds overhead were just as uninviting. It was not an average spring day in Santa Monica, however, perhaps the weather was appropriate considering that it was not an average match either.
The Singles portion was a particularly hard sell for the team. Sarah Anderson was the only one to win a match, first with a 6-2, following that with a 6-3 win, taking the best out of three. Contrastingly, heavy hitters like Alix Thomas and Caroline Hofsten lost both matches with large deficits. "I didn't feel normal today" said Hofsten.
Not feeling normal was certainly an understatement. Although the usual destructive duo of Anastasia Eliseeva and Julia Cobain went on to win their doubles Match 8-5, the second and last win for the Lady Corsairs Thursday, it was a gloomy day to say the least. Julia Cobain had a particularly frustrating week, although not completely due to her loss. Her ankles were the real problem. A couple of sore ankles kept Julia from delivering her regular dose of flat and slice serves, and it was clear she was having some trouble traveling up and down the court. "I rolled both of them last week, and I did it again today," said Cobain as she limped from the court in heart wrenching pain.
Team captain Anastasia Eliseeva also has some slight pains leftover from her elbow injury earlier in the season. "I was physically drained. I felt paralyzed, like I couldn't move," said Eliseeva in response to not just her hint of an injury, but her opponent Chloe Redmen, who she also lost to earlier this season. Unfortunately, the losses didn't end there. The next day the Lady Corsairs played Bakersfield College. It didn't fair well. Sarah Anderson once again dominated in her singles match. Anastasia Eliseeva also took her singles match with a 6-4 win in the third match.
With the team down 2-4 by the time doubles was on deck, the team had no option but to win all three to lock in the win. Unfortunately, they ended up losing all three. Team Coach Richard Goldenson saw his team go from rags to riches to slightly scuffled riches. "Cuesta outplayed us but we did show improvement, we didn't show them who we really were but we will in the post season."
The season record now lies in the hands of a rain date this Thursday, the opponent and location has to be announced. However, as Coach Goldenson has stated, the postseason is certainly up for grabs, and perhaps the Lady Corsairs will show off their true arsenal.