By Ashley Weaver
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa girls varsity tennis team could not keep the ball in the court and lost in the second round of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) tournament.
The Mustangs played in the Open Division semifinals against Peninsula on Wednesday at Costa. Although the girls gave a valiant effort, the Mustangs lost 10-8.
“It’s always disappointing losing in an important match like CIF, especially when the score was so close, but Peninsula is a really good team,” senior Audrey Vo said.
In Vo’s first singles match, she lost 6-0. However, in the second match, she came back with precise placement on the other side of the court. When receiving her opponent’s serve, Vo made accurate returns, forcing her opponent into the back of the court. With her precise and powerful backhand hits, she won the next match, 6-1.
“I think we all tried our best, but it was a tough loss because there were a few close matches we could’ve won,” Vo said. “But I think everyone is looking toward state as a ‘redemption.’’’
In the second round of singles, sophomore Haily Huynh lost her first match, 6-4. Huynh came back with fast line drives down the court, putting her in a position to win her second match, 6-2.
“My strategy was to be chill and not think about what the results are,” Huynh said. “I expect for all the matches to be harder, and the competition will continue to be more and more competitive.”
In the first round of doubles, seniors Peyton Douglas and Kiki Daviduk came out strong with high intensity. In the first round, the pair came out on top, winning 6-3. Moving into the second round, the girls faced another tough Peninsula duo, resulting in a 6-2 loss.
“After my first round, I felt happy with my performance,” Daviduk said. “I was so stoked since Peyton was playing amazing as always, and we were looking forward to playing our next match.”
In the first round of doubles, junior Kacey Feng and sophomore Sydney Vo swept their opponents, 6-0 during their first doubles match. In the second round, the duo battled it out during long rallies with critical movement on and off the net. The players came out victorious in their second set, 7-5. In the third round, they finished strong keeping the same momentum throughout each match, winning 6-4.
“Today we were nervous to play Peninsula because we had lost to them twice already, but everyone went in fired up and hoping to win,” said Daviduk.
The Mustangs finished third in CIF and are currently ranked third in state. The team also placed 2nd in Bay League. Feng and Sydney Vo will advance to the CIF doubles finals due to their victory during Bay League finals. Audrey Vo advanced to the CIF individual finals matches after placing second in Bay League Finals. The team will move onto CIF state regionals starting on Nov. 22.
“I’m most excited for competing in the state individuals; it is a great way to finish off my high school tennis career,” Audrey Vo said.
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