“The girls put up a solid fight!!”

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“The girls put up a solid fight!!”

March 20, 2015 by David Svien

Bree Daigneault (left) and Valen Trujillo take a celebratory selfie. (Valen Trujillo photos)

Trujillo mingles with Player of the Match Jacki Ginnings.

“We lost, but I can’t say that I’m dissatisfied with the results.”

Opening against possibly their toughest foe of the season Thursday, always-dangerous South Whidbey, the CHS girls’ tennis squad fell 5-2.

But the lessons learned are just as important as the final score for Wolf coach Ken Stange.

“The girls put up a solid fight. Overall, I was happy with our first match,” he said. “South Whidbey made an ideal first opponent, in my opinion, because they are probably one of the two most difficult teams we will face this season, Charles Wright Academy being the other.

“Now, our players can take the lessons from match one, and apply them for the next few practices, until we can test our skills again next Thursday (against league foe Klahowya).”

Coupeville’s initial wins came from #1 singles player Jacki Ginnings and #3 doubles duo Valen Trujillo and Sydney Autio.

Ginnings, making her debut as the team’s top player after Allie Hanigan’s graduation, won a three-set thriller that nearly went three hours.

Coming back from a set down, she impressed Stange with her grit and tenacity, earning the first Player of the Match award this season.

“The scores don’t indicate how closely the match was contested,” Stange said. “After finding herself being run ragged in the first set, Jacki turned it around, pushing her opponent from side to side, eventually forcing her into unfavorable positions.

“There were quite a few 20+ shot points, and Jacki found herself on the winning end of the ones that counted most,” he added. “It was an exciting win for Jacki.”

Coupeville had a chance to swing the match in its favor but fell just short, losing super-competitive matches at first and fourth doubles.

The battle at first doubles was especially impressive, as freshmen Payton Aparicio and Sage Renninger came agonizingly close to upsetting a veteran Falcon pair before falling 7-5, 7-5.

“Our frosh had a 5-4 lead in each set but were unable to pick up the elusive sixth game,” Stange said. “This was the first ever high school tennis match for the duo. It was a bit of baptism by fire.

“They played with remarkable skill and composure, especially considering that they were up against a pair of experienced players,” he added. “These two have a bright future.”

Complete results:

Varsity:

1st Singles — Jacki Ginnings beat Macey Bishop 2-6, 6-1, 6-1

2nd Singles — Micky LeVine lost to Kendra Warwick 6-0, 6-2

3rd Singles — Mckenzie Meyer lost to Anna Lynch 6-2, 6-0

1st Doubles — Payton Aparicio/Sage Renninger lost to Isla Dubendorf/Iona Rohan 7-5, 7-5

2nd Doubles — McKenzie Bailey/Wynter Thorne lost to Bayley Gochanour/Taylor Hamilton 6-1, 6-3

3rd Doubles — Sydney Autio/Valen Trujillo beat Lucy Clements/Jen Le Roy 5-7, 6-2, 6-2

4th Doubles — Ana Luvera/Ivy Luvera lost to Carmen Warwick/Alex Foode 6-2, 1-6, 6-2

JV:

Bree Daigneault/Jazmine Franklin beat McKenna Chapman/Shady Moody 6-4

Haleigh Deasy/Hanna Seiffert lost to Margaret Timms/Jing Wu 6-4