Crusaders Drop Opener 4-1 but some EXCELLENT Tennis Was Played!
The Scorpions of Las Vegas Day School are a perennial playoff participant in the Red Rock Athletic Conference and were coming off a win vs The Meadows on Tuesday, so they had a match under thier belts while the Crusaders - only ONE of which had ever played a MS match before and only two of which had ever played a tennis match before - were in the season opener. Despite battling some nerves and the wind, the Crusaders did quite well, but in the end Faith dropped the opener by a 4-1 tally.
Taryn Toomer was #1 singles today and took on a player that has a USTA Futures Ranking in the Intermountain District. That didnt deter Taryn, as she played an excellent match, only to fall 4-6. It was a great showing against a good player, and Taryn will certianly learn from that one. Second singles today was Makenzie Maier, who was ALSO taking on a ranked USTA player. Mackenzie did well in her first ever action but this Scorpion had a little to much bite, and came away with the win. After the match, we noted that Makenzie would be a better player for having worked so hard against this tough foe, and she agareed and thought it would help her. Vanessa Luna got the Faith win on the day, as she was at third singles and won by forfeit.
Our doubles teams today were Leean Yoo and Evie deWit at #1 doubles and Ava Hoesel/Joanne Yoo at #2 doubles. (Tell us when you have heard this before...) One half of the Scorpion 1st doubles duo was ranked in the USTA Futures Ranking in the Intermountain District. Leean was a great leader and helped Evie out a lot, and these two Crusaders did quite well, dropping a well played 3-6 decision. There were many, many positives that came from this one. Ava and Joanne did a lot of things well and lost 6-4 to a team that had beaten The Meadows tandem 6-2 just two days prior. Just like both Taryn's and the Leean/Evie matches, this one could have gone either way, but the more experienced players pulled it out in each occasion. This was experience that we did not have coming in, but now we do!
We got to play some Bonus Matches today, with Addyson/Payton Conelly teaming up and Danielle Alarcon/Katherine Levine-Frye teaming up. Each one hit at least one excellent shot during this stretch and walked off the court excited about the chance to compete again. Vanessa got in a set as well, and played some really good tennis before falling to a player with a REALLY good serve. Makenzie played the final Bonus Match of the day, and even though only a short time had passed since her tough debut, that match was already paying dividends, as Makenzie played excellent tennis against a Scorpion 7th grader, dropping a 4-6 decision but playing very, VERY well.
The whole team should be proud of its accomplishments on the court today, and we loved the team spirit of everyone all day long. We walked onto these courts with virtually zero experience, and we walk away with our held heads high for how we we fought and how well we did. This season is all about improvement, and today was a great first step.
Go Faith!!!
