Two losses and one suspended match made for a busy week on the court for Escalon tennis players. Unfortunately, the two full matches didn’t go their way – losing to Mountain House and Hughson – and they trail in the match with Riverbank, to be completed at a later date.
Against Mountain House on March 28, it was a 2-7 loss for Escalon. Getting the wins were the girls number two doubles Elizabeth Shelley and Mikayla Schut, taking a 6-2, 6-1 victory while boys number two doubles Wyatt McCune and Jack Fitzgerald got a forfeit win.
“Elizabeth and Mikayla are on a roll. They have such a great attitude on the court and always support one another. They are a fun team to watch,” said coach Staci Diaz. “All singles players played great. Unfortunately, Mountain House has some amazing singles players that have more experience than us. I was still proud at the way they played and never gave up.”
Tommy Pangan, Michael Gaines, Brooklyn Berry and Courtney Ney suited up for singles play and battled but fell to the Mustangs.
Wednesday, the Cougars met with Hughson in a make-up of a previously rained out match and the outcome was the same, Escalon taking a 2-7 loss against the Huskies.
This time, boys number one doubles Sahil Prasad and Jevan Salyer got a win, 7-5, 6-3 with girls number one doubles Rachel DeVecchio and Amanda Salvador taking a hard fought 5-7, 7-5, 10-7 victory.
“Rachel and Amanda went three sets and beat their opponents in the third. I was proud that they were able to win the next two sets after losing the first,” Diaz noted. “Sahil and Jevan played great in their match together. They battled to win the first, then kept the intensity in the second and made sure they won. It was fun to watch.”
Friday’s match saw the Cougars taking on the Riverbank Bruins.
“Our mixed doubles went to a third set and they still need to play a tiebreaker. Unfortunately, we ran out of daylight, so we didn’t finish,” said Diaz. “We are going to play a tiebreaker for the third when we go to Riverbank next time.”
Taking wins were Prasad and Salyer at number one boys doubles, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
“Jevan and Sahil lost the first set and came back and won the next two. They played great together,” Diaz said.
Shelley and Schut were winners at number two girls doubles, crafting a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Still to be decided is the mixed doubles, which featured Mya Beary partnered with Jack Fitzgerald. Scores so far saw them fall 5-7 in the first, come back to win 6-1 in the second and playing to a 6-6 tie in the third, headed to the tiebreaker.
“Mya and Jack were playing great, and I can’t wait to see them finish their match against Riverbank,” Diaz said.
This week, the Cougars will host Ripon in Thursday afternoon action, April 6 at 3:30 p.m.
