Highland tennis edges Apple Valley
| Highland 10, Apple Valley 8
GOT IT —
LANCASTER — A crowd started to grow around one of the final doubles matches for the Highland girls tennis team Tuesday.
Highland was in the midst of a close playoff match against Apple Valley and the doubles match with the Bulldogs’ No. 2 team of sophomore Alondra Jimenez and Melody Melendez would help decide it.
Jimenez and Melendez won their set on a tiebreaker, 7-5, as Highland won the CIFSouthern Section Division 5 wild-card match against Apple
Valley 10-8 at Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park.
“Honestly, I felt really good,” said Melendez, a second-year varsity player. “There was just so much riding on this and we knew every point, we had to make it.”
Jimenez, who started playing this season, took a simple approach to the pressure-filled set.
“I think it was just having like a zen mindset and making sure you just get the ball over the net,” Jimenez said. “You don’t have to play aggressive, just make sure you’re actually making it over the net.”
“It means everything. Our school hasn’t gone to a playoff in a long time,” Jimenez said. “So we’re very excited and happy to know that we’re going to the round.”
The match was tied 3-3 after the first round and 6-6 after the second round, before the Bulldogs took a 9-7 lead.
“I have such a great team,” Highland coach Linda Ruiz said. “They’re just totally fighters and that last team fought until the end and had they not won, it would have gone to points and it would have been a close match.”
Highland, the second-place
team in the Golden League, will play at Tahquitz in a Division 5 first-round match today.
It will be the first time Highland will travel outside of the Valley for a match this season.
“I’m so excited,” said Highland sophomore Alexis Romano. “We’ve never traveled anywhere as a team. I’m excited to do that. Hopefully, we can get the next one.”
Romano, the No. 1 singles player, was one of two singles players to sweep their three sets.
Romano swept her sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.
“I was pretty confident,” Romano said. “It was a struggle to adapt to the first girl, but overall I think I did pretty well. Pretty proud of how I played.
“In the heat, I’m so used to it, because I practice in the heat as well, so it wasn’t much of a difference. I could say it actually made me better, because I felt more loose and not tense. I have to thank the heat for how I played today.”
Highland’s No. 2 singles player Bernadette Bravo swept her three sets 6-3, 6-1, 6-0.
“The overall performance, I can’t give enough credit to Alexis and Bernadette Bravo and my No. 1 doubles team (Isabella Bravo and Nicole
Padilla), they have all year been sweeping matches, so they just continued to do it today,” Ruiz said. “Without them, we wouldn’t have made it here. Tomorrow’s Hemet, which we’re going to win. That’s our plan.”
Highland’s No. 1 doubles team of Isabella Bravo and Nicole Padilla swept their sets 6-3, 6-0, 6-2.
The doubles team of Melendez and Jimenez had lost their first two sets 6-0, 6-2 before rebounding for the tiebreaking victory.
“Ninth grade was the first time I even picked up a racket,” Melendez said. “So to be doing this is honestly amazing. Making this trip for our school is just a plus. It’s great.”
Melendez said she split time between doubles and singles last year.
“Last year I kind of wasn’t that good,” Melendez said. “But this year I really learned to push myself and honestly I feel that working with Alondra, she’s been the best doubles partner I’ve ever had.”
Jimenez started playing year.
“I barely started playing this year,” Jimenez said. “Picked up my racket a couple of months ago. I’ve improved a lot and that’s thanks to Linda. She’s a really good coach. I was pushing myself to do my best.
“Very excited. We always try to do our best to win.” this