(Chelsea Update would like to thank Matt Pedlow for the information in this story.)
The Chelsea girls tennis team started the season in winning style by defeating Mason 6-2.
“Every year we start our season by playing Mason, a Division 2 team who is consistently good and well coached. We always have some great battles, and fortunately we were able to pull out the victory,” said coach Matt Pedlow.
Winning for Chelsea was:
Rachel Bareis at 3 singles 6-0, 6-1. “Rachel played a great match today. For a first-year varsity starter she looked very composed and played really smart,” Pedlow said, adding, “Rachel completely controlled both sets and never gave her opponent a chance to get back in the set. I’m really proud of her performance today.”
At 4 singles, Sierra Martinez-Kratz won 6-2, 6-0. She dropped the first two games before coming up with an effective strategy, her coach said. “I think Sierra really frustrated her opponent and she played well to get us the point.”
All of the doubles teams played well today and ended up sweeping all four flights.
At 1 dubs, Maddie Pedlow and Kyra Van Batavia won in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. “They made it close in the 2nd set, but Maddie and Kyra covered the court well and were very aggressive at the net,” Pedlow said, adding, “It was their first match together but they looked like they’ve played as a team for years.”
The 2 doubles team of Julia Schachinger and Marilynn O’Hara also played their first match together, but the chemistry was there from the first game, the coach said. “They ended up winning a very tight match 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, and 10-8 in a 10 point tiebreak. They were down 7-2 in the tiebreak but battled back and took 8 out of the next 9 points to seal the win,” Pedlow said.
At 3 dubs, the team of Maddisen Chinavare and Gretchen Kuras won 6-2, 6-3, and the 4 doubles team of Corrine Dale and Remy Sturt won 6-1, 6-0. “These ladies are all new doubles players, but like the 1 and 2 doubles teams they really gelled together well,” the coach said, adding, “Both teams controlled the pace of play and looked dominate throughout the match. I’m excited to see them all play together this year, and hopefully they can both get seeded at the state finals in June.”
