ELK GROVE, Calif. – Despite missing nearly half of its squad – including six of its top 12 players – St. Francis came away with a 6-3 win over Cosumnes Oaks in Delta League girls' tennis action Tuesday afternoon. The team victory included five of the six singles matches plus the top doubles pairing, with one of the losses coming by virtue of a default.
The Troubadours improve to 7-3 overall, including a 5-3 mark in conference matchups.
St. Francis fielded what head coach Kristi Spector described as "a small but mighty group," with only 10 players available: six for singles and only enough for two doubles lines. Senior and team co-captain Aniyus Pierre enjoyed the most decisive win at No. 1 singles, dispatching Wolfpack counterpart Katie Hsu in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. Chloe Garcia and Kate Jones also enjoyed two-set victories at No. 3 and No. 6 singles, respectively. Arden Garcia and Claire Allaye-Chan prevailed at Doubles 1 in similar fashion: 6-1, 6-2 against the tandem of Stephanie Huang and Jalin Fan.
Anna Dinh, recently awarded the team's weekly "Queen of the Court" sweatshirt, posted the team's most thrilling win, bouncing back from a 7-5 loss in the first set to take a 6-2 triumph in the second, and a 12-10 victory in the tiebreaker.
The No. 2 doubles team of Ava Ensberg and Laila Shamshad nearly enjoyed such a comeback victory. They lost to Hannah Zingapan and Maya Cornman, 6-1, in the opener. Then they won a 7-6 second with a 9-7 tiebreaker, and battled all the way to an ultimate 15-13 setback in the final one-game tiebreaker.
St. Francis returns to action on Thursday for another visit to Elk Grove, this time to Franklin High. Match time is 3:45 p.m.
ST. FRANCIS 6, COSUMNES OAKS 3
Cosumnes Oaks High School (Elk Grove, Calif.)
SINGLES
1. Aniyus Pierre (SF) def. Katie Hsu (CO), 6-0, 6-1
2. Norah Zhou (SF) def. Emma Kuang (CO), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Chloe Garcia (SF) def. Rachel Liang (CO), 6-4, 6-2
4. Anna Dinh (SF) def. Pali Luo (CO), 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (12)
5. Kaede Chung (CO) def. Arini Tandon (SF), 6-4, 6-0
6. Kate Jones (SF) def. Alexis Chung (CO), 6-1, 6-4
DOUBLES
1. Arden Garcia/Claire Allaye-Chan (SF) def. Stephanie Huang/Jalin Fan (CO), 6-1, 6-2
2. Hannah Zingapan/ Maya Cornman (CO) def. Ava Ensberg/Laila Shamshad (SF), 6-1, 6-7 (9), 1-0 (13)
3. Cosumnes Oaks won by default.
