The Salinas Cowboys flexed their muscle on the court Thursday when they defeated the San Benito Lady 'Balers 5-2 at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club, and took Round 1 in a match that is expected to have heavy implications in the Tri-County Athletic League.
The two tennis powers split last year's series and wound up sharing the TCAL title as a result.
"Singles, 1 through 3, they're really strong," coach Ed Cecena said. "We did get a win from Bri (Ahumada-Wolfsmith) at No. 4, but they're deep just like us. They just happened to be better than us today."
San Benito is now 4-1 in the TCAL, 10-3 overall.
At No. 4 singles, Ahumada-Wolfsmith beat Katie Gibbons 6-4, 6-1. San Benito's only other victory came at No. 2 doubles, where Vanessa Casalegno and Chelsea Yoakum defeated Shelby Weber and Kalah Figel 6-4, 7-5.
Otherwise, the remaining matches fell in Salinas' favor, including No. 1 doubles, where Crystal Perreira and Marisa Ibarra lost for the first time this season.
"They didn't lose the match," Cecena said. "The other players just played well and took the match."
The doubles pairing fell to Kristen Shimizu and Audra Bell 6-4, 6-4, while at No. 3, Rachel Smith and Lauren Ademek lost an intense match to Jamie McDonald and Kylie Knoles-Barnett 6-3, 5-7 and 14-12 in the third-set tiebreaker.
In singles, No. 1 Amanda Marshall lost to Taryn Andrews 6-0, 6-2; Abbie Woods fell to Teagan Seely 6-0, 6-3; and No. 3 Hayley Barker lost 6-4, 6-1 to Salinas' Lily O'Mary.
San Benito will visit Gilroy on Tuesday at 4 p.m. They'll have a second shot at Salinas later in the season on Oct. 28.
"From now until then," Cecena said, "we're gonna have to improve a lot."
CAR WASH
The San Benito High girls tennis team will hold their annual car wash fund-raiser on Saturday, Oct. 11 at the Sunnyslope Medical Center in Hollister.
The car wash, which will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., will raise funds too offset the costs of San Benito's team uniforms.
Donations are accepted.
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