Varsity girls tennis sweeps Burlingame in the quarter-final round of CCS

Eric Wong

Varsity girls tennis picks up another victory, 7-0, to move on to the CCS semi-finals

The girls varsity tennis team — coming off a sweep of Mountain View — emerged victorious yet again, winning 7-0 against Burlingame High School on Nov. 12. After Friday’s win, they will move on to the semifinal round of CCS to play Menlo Upper School, currently 19-5 after a sweep against Menlo-Atherton High School during quarterfinals, at Courtside Club in Los Gatos on Nov. 15 at 12 p.m. A win will take the girls to the championship match on Nov. 17 at Courtside at 2 p.m.Number one doubles: Freshmen Kelsey Chong and Sabrina Mui win in straight sets (6-3, 6-2)

Freshman Sabrina Mui sends the ball soaring over the net as her partner freshman Kelsey Chong watches from the baseline. Photo by Eric Wong.

After the number one doubles pair of sophomore Ruri Kobayakawa and freshman Kelsey Chong breezed through Mountain View High School with only one dropped point, they both were excited for the quarter-final round against Burlingame High School. However, a persistent knee infection that started six days ago left Kobayakawa on the sidelines and Chong in need of a partner. Freshman Sabrina Mui, who played number two doubles with junior Claire Chin in the previous round, stepped in to fill the role. Though the two had little previous experience playing together, they quickly found chemistry on the court and secured victory in two straight sets. Chong and Mui exploited their opponents’ lack of consistency throughout the first set. Taking a conservative approach, both Chong and Mui played near the baseline, with Chong occasionally darting to the net as she became more comfortable to score a few winners. They wrapped up the first set with a score of 6-3. Burlingame was able to hold serve with Chong and Mui to stay in the game, keeping the score at a close 3-2 . Chong committed a series of service errors but quickly recovered her composure to help win the set. With Mui providing baseline support, Chong was able to play more aggressively and hit the ball with plenty of power to score a few winners. Burlingame couldn’t keep up, and Chong and Mui won the next three sets straight to win the match. “[Chong and Mui] had a hard time communicating [at first],” Kobayakawa said. “But they did pick it up, and they showed they had the mentality to catch up even though they were down in the beginning. I think they could have worked on the contrast between keeping the ball in the court and being aggressive.” Kobayakawa hopes to return to action in the semi-final round against Menlo School on Monday. “Ruri is our strongest doubles player,” coach Gene Fortino said. “Sabrina also has been playing very strong and I didn’t want to break up our doubles three pair [for today’s match]. It was nice to see two freshmen step up for a big match.” In the other two doubles matches, senior Lekha Viswanadham filled the number two doubles spot to partner with junior Claire Chin. After comfortably winning the first set, Viswanadham and Chin were swept in the second set 0-6, forcing the game to a third tiebreaker set. They ultimately won with a score of 6-3.The number three doubles team of senior Jackie Lim and junior Nitisha Mehta also won in three sets, winning the third set with a close score of 7-6. Number one singles: Senior Sylvia Li wins against Burlingame junior Brooke Tsu (6-0, 6-2)

Senior Sylvia Li delivers a powerful forearm stroke to send the ball across the net. She defeated her opponent in two straight sets, losing only two points in the process. Photo by Eric Wong.

Li maintained her stellar record with powerful forearm strokes that proved to be a challenge for opponent junior Brooke Tsu. Li, who has verbally committed to play tennis for Harvard, dominated Tsu in two straight sets, losing only two points in the process. The match was Li’s third time topping Tsu.Li remains optimistic about the upcoming semifinals match against Menlo High School. “We won last time, but it was kind of close so if everyone plays well, we can win,” Li said. “There’s some pressure this year to make finals in CCS, because then you get to go to NorCal [Championships]. It’s definitely harder — even in matches like this.” Number two singles: Senior Vynnie Kong wins against Burlingame junior Polina Davidenko (5-7, 6-2, 6-3)Vynnie initially struggled to maintain control of the ball, bringing her to 1-4 in the first set. Several serves into the net kept her rhythm off, and Vynnie could not gain a lead on opponent junior Polina Davidenko, losing the first set at 5-7.Vynnie bounced back to keep a lead through her second set, keeping the ball in the court and getting her serves over the net to finish strong with 6-2.“The first set I wasn’t getting enough spin on the ball, but the second set I did better,” Vynnie said.After taking a break at the split-set, Vynnie faltered at the beginning of the third set, allowing Davidenko to take a small lead. Halfway through the set, Vynnie regained her second set momentum and jammed the ball near Davidenko multiple times, forcing her to return the ball weakly. By this time the Matadors had already secured their spot in quarter finals through the successes of three singles and one doubles team. Vynnie garnered the fourth win of the day for singles wrapping her last set up at 6-3.Number three singles: Sophomore Wendi Kong wins against Burlingame freshman Alex Harrigan (6-2, 7-5)Although she scored well, a frustrated Wendi also constantly served into the net. However, she picked up her game, sending shots to the corner and along the baseline, ending her first set against freshman Alex Harrigan 6-2. Wendi got off to a shaky start in her second set, as Harrigan built a big 2-5 lead. She rallied back, pushing to a 6-5, where Wendi and Harrigan remained for almost 20 minutes before Wendi closed up at 7-5. Number four singles: Sophomore Jody Law wins against Burlingame freshman Lauren Sinatra (7-6 (8-6),6-3)Law faced a formidable opponent, freshman Lauren Sinatra, winning in two very close matches. Sinatra’s shots were aggressive, but Law was able to return them with equally strong hits. “Overall the match was disappointing, but the second set I played smarter, chose better shots to hit,” Law said.****The CCS semifinals for the Matadors will pit them against third-seed Menlo School at Courtside Club on Nov. 15 at 12 p.m. Check back at elestoque.org for coverage of the match up.{cc-by-nc-sa}