After almost winning the San Andreas league last year and qualifying for CIF playoffs, ladies tennis had high expectations going into this season.
And they haven’t disappointed.
Currently they stand at 4-5 on the season, but 3-0 in the San Andreas league, where they’ve been easily beating their opponents so far this season.
Today, the ladies are taking on Eisenhower, so it is time to do a mid-season check-in. Here are three pointers to take away from this season so far:
Point 1: Record
Don’t let the 5 losses fool you. The Yellowjackets have been playing tough competition this season in preparation for league play.
According to head coach Omar Menjivar, three of those matches were “against higher division teams. We pushed them to the limit.”
One of those teams was Jurupa Hills. After winning the San Andreas league last season, they moved up to the Sunkist league, but that didn’t stop the Yellowjackets from pushing them to a tiebreaker for the first match of the season. Since then, they have also faced higher ranked Summit twice, losing twice, but both times nearly walking away with a victory.
Now that San Andreas league play has started, however, the team hasn’t struggled, defeating Notre Dame, Grand Terrace and Carter for a 3-0 start.
Point 2: Chemistry
Part of the team’s success is its chemistry. This team, led by Shantel Marentes and Juliette Echauregui for the singles, and Valeria Pech and Emily Melgarejo for the doubles, has bonded and that shows on the court.
Collectively, this varsity team has quite a bit of experience. The team is able to showcase the skills they have gained throughout their years of practice, which enables them to handle a lot of pressure and is ready for it.
“They want to improve themselves,” said coach Menjivar. “There is always room for improvement.”
Point 3: Rival/goal
With Jurupa Hills now in the Sunkist league, a new rival must emerge. The last couple years, Jurupa and Colton had several matches that went to tiebreaker, but with the Spartans gone, who will take their place?
According to the records, Notre Dame (2-1) and Grand Terrace (2-1) are the most likely contenders, but the Yellowjackets already beat both decisively. They beat Notre Dame 16-2 on Sep. 14, and Grand Terrace 12-6 on Sep. 19.
So right now it looks like the San Andreas is Colton’s to take. The ladies’ team looks to make it to the CIF playoffs for their second consecutive year, and hope to put a league championship banner up in the rafters.
All indicators are pointing to them achieving this goal.
