LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Girls Tennis Teams Look to NCS


Melissa Van Pell held on to win a pivotal match for the Dons Photos Gint Federas

High school tennis is winding down with just two matches remaining in league play. Acalanes' current record stands at 8-2 in DFAL (10-5 overall), losing only to Miramonte (2-7) and Dougherty Valley (9-0) during first round of action. Their last two pivotal matches of the season will be against those tough teams for a second time.

Campolindo's young team continues to battle hard standing at 4-6 in DFAL.

"Although our team is made up of a good number of inexperienced players, they definitely make up for it with their good effort and positive spirit. As a result, many of the girls have made tremendous strides over the past month," Campo coach Sunun Faulkner explained.

Their hard work was not enough to take the win against Acalanes in their second match on Oct. 15. The Lady Dons came up with the 6-3 victory.

Acalanes' head coach John Vocke took nothing for granted going into the match. "Since the first Campolindo match, we have been working hard to improve our doubles play. We have experimented by having the girls play with different partners to try to find players who have chemistry with each other," Vocke added.

Their first meeting ended with the same 6-3 final score. Acalanes swept all six singles matches and Campo took all three doubles. This time the Lady Dons traded one singles match (line 5) for one of the doubles (line 3).

The competition could have tipped toward the Cougars however. Line four singles proved to be a pivotal match. In the last singles match to finish, Campolindo's Silvana Moiceanu and Acalanes' Melissa Van Pell treated spectators to long rallies and hard fought points.

It started with a 6-1 first set win for Van Pell, but Moiceanu stepped up her game in the second set, scrambling and tracking down more balls. Moiceanu came back to even the set 5-5, but Van Pell took the next two games to close out the set (and match), 6-1, 7-5.

The Cougars did not accomplish their goal of defeating the Dons in this meeting, but they have much to be proud of. "Although we're not winning as often as the past Campo tennis teams, we feel we are having one of our most successful years," Faulkner said. "Our team philosophy is to focus on the process and not the outcome. For us, that means strive to improve our skills, always be a good "citizen" and be a good teammate."

SINGLES

1. von Ebbe (ACA) d. Ross 6-1, 6-0

2. Karagocev (ACA) d. Leserman 6-1, 6-2

3. Barabi (ACA) d. Brewer 6-1, 6-2

4. Van Pell (ACA) d. Moiceanu 6-1, 7-5

5. Marino (CAM) d. Singer 6-4, 6-4

6. Ladrech (ACA) d. McDonell 6-2, 6-3

DOUBLES

1. Kallerud / Finney (CAM) d.Lo / Harrington 6-3, 6-3

2. Zhong / Warner (CAM) d. Kwok / Bakar 6-3, 6-2

3. Yang / Ho (ACA) d. Braun / Wong 6-3, 4-6, 10-5

Note: Miramonte and Acalanes faced off Oct. 22 after our press deadline.

Miramonte also stands at 8-2 with both Lamorinda rivals remaining in their schedule.

Heading into the match, Vocke felt optimistic. "The Lady Dons competed hard against Miramonte in our first meeting," he said. "While the overall score was a lopsided 7-2, we believed that we played well and match up well against Miramonte."

Miramonte head coach Michael McCollom expects a competitive second match against their Lafayette rival. "Acalanes team is good top to bottom with one and two among the best around, but...we are just a little deeper," he said. "I think we are playing well enough to continue our success against the Dons."

Miramonte's final match of league play will take place tomorrow, Oct. 24 at Campolindo. "I look forward to ending our DFAL season at [Campo's] place and believe we have the depth and players to finish strong in second place of the DFAL and playing on into the NCS," he said.