Parker Salomon
Staff Writer
Mira Costa’s girls tennis team dominated against Santa Margarita, using its skillful returns, determination and energy on the court.
The Mustangs defeated Santa Margarita at Santa Margarita High School on Nov. 6 in the team’s second California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) match of the season. The Mustangs dominated, winning 11-7.
“Our team played well in our match against Santa Margarita,” junior doubles player Lena Nagy said. “The team played solid games, and the match was great practice for the quarterfinals next week.”
The Mustangs started strong with victories by junior doubles partners Nagy and Lindsay Giese and junior doubles partners Madi Giese and Jackie Soliman. Costa kept up its momentum with wins by junior doubles partners Isabella and Katarina Draskovic and junior singles player Amy Gaal, ending the match 11-7.
“As a team we all worked great together,” Soliman said. “We fought hard for the win, and it is very rewarding to see the team come so far.”
In the first game of the day, Nagy and Lindsay faltered at first and were losing 2-0. They fought back and tied the score at 3-3. During the last set, Nagy’s strong groundstroke made her opponent falter, ending the game 6-3, bringing Costa ahead 1-0.
“I was super consistent with my ground strokes and serves, and that helped a lot during my games,” Nagy said. “My volleys were not the best, and I missed a lot of easy shots, but overall my performance was strong.”
During Costa’s tenth game of the day, Giese and Soliman’s solid groundstrokes and serves helped them dominate the competition 6-0, keeping Costa ahead 6-4. In the fifth set, Soliman sliced the ball to the back of the court, earning the duo the point.
“My groundstrokes got better and better as the game progressed, and they helped me throughout the match.” Soliman said.
In the fifteenth game of the day, Katarina and Isabella Draskovic swept their opponents 6-1, keeping Costa ahead 9-6. In an intense volley, Katarina poached the ball earning them the point.
“Katarina and Isabella Draskovic struggled at the beginning of their game, but they kept on fighting,” coach Joe Casulli said. “I expect great things from them, and they delivered in Friday’s match.”
In the last game of the match, Gaal faced off against Santa Margarita’s number one singles player. Gaal was down in the beginning, losing 4-1. She managed to come back using her impressive serves, dominating the game 7-5, ending the day’s match 11-7.
“I played well on Friday, especially in getting up to the net and closing out the point,” Gaal said.
The Mustangs are currently 21-4 overall and they will face off against Harvard-Westlake High School, 13-1, in its third CIF match, at Valley College on Monday.
“Harvard-Westlake has highly-ranked players, so it should be a very good match,” Casulli said. “Our singles and doubles will have to play to the best of their capabilities, but either way the match will be very close.”
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