Determined Bulldogs Beat Montclair-Kimberley

11/1/2015

DE beats MKA 3-2

After a great match a few weeks ago, DE faced MKA again, this time on our home courts. Eager to play singles against the strong competition, the girls were pumped for the match from the start of our warmups.

The singles matches were incredibly exciting; all three opponents were well-matched. At first singles, Arianna proved once again how she never gives up in a match. She played against a strong opponent who forced Arianna to hit solid, offensive approach shots and put-aways. Both girls held the lead at different times, and when Arianna went down in the middle of the match, we saw her trademark fist pump when she started her comeback. In the end, she lost 8-5, but she had a lot to be proud of!

At third singles, Sloan took an early lead against her opponent. She also stayed true to her strength --- long rallies! When we looked over at her match, she frequently played points with 10, 15, sometimes even 20 shots at a time! We were tired just watching her! Her steady baseline game gave her an early lead. Her opponent then picked up some steam towards the end, staging a comeback, but Sloan held on to win 8-6.

At first doubles, India and Jackie played as they described “one of the best matches of the season.” While they lost 8-2, both girls were extremely proud of how they stuck with it, how they smiled even when they were down, and how the hit some great offensive shots. We love that fighting spirit!

At second doubles, sixth grade duo Brianna and Franki looked confident from the beginning. After going down a break at the start, they regrouped and never looked back. They won 8-2.

At this point, the match was tied 2-2. We had three exhibition matches going on. Anna and Alexa played really well together, especially against some strong opponents. In their first official match together, the two girls won 6-4. Ellie and Maggie had a tough match, but battled anyway, despite their 6-2 loss. Abby, Helen, and Hyeri joined forces with a player from MKA to play doubles, and their match was unfortunately cut short due to an injury and darkness.

So, with the exhibition matches happening and other matches winding down, attention turned to second singles, where Grace was playing another epically close match. It reminded us of her match a few weeks ago at SRD. She went down 0-3 at the start, fought back to 2-3, went down 2-4, took a lead in the middle, and as the other matches wrapped up, she was fighting another battle at 7-7. Grace won that game, going up 8-7, but her opponent wasn’t done yet! They had a few great points, bringing the game to deuce. Grace took a deep breath, made her opponent move on the court, and in the end, she won 9-7!

This individual win clinched a team victory of 3-2. It also brought our season record to 5-2. Go Bulldogs!

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