(Chelsea Update would like to thank Head Girls Tennis Coach Matt Pedlow for the information in this story.)
The Chelsea High School Varsity Girls’ Tennis Team took part in a quad match last weekend, and due to ice on the courts, the matches were shortened to 10 game, pro sets, with a 10-point tie-breaker if a match was tied at 9-9.
This only happened once, said Matt Pedlow, varsity girls head coach, during the No. 1 doubles match between Chelsea and Dearborn, which Chelsea won 10-9.
Overall, a cold and blustery day, the coach said, and Chelsea won the quad with 18 points. Dearborn finished second with 14 points, Trenton had 9, and Dexter finished in fourth with 6 points.
Chelsea won all four of the doubles flights, and Trenton took the two top singles flights.
Winning the flights were:
- 1 singles- Lauren Solano, Trenton
- 2 singles- Brittany Vinca, Trenton
- 3 singles- EJ Lin, Chelsea
- 4 singles- Andrea Dumitrescu, Dearborn
- 1 doubles- Sarah Oberholtzer/Rachel Katz, Chelsea
- 2 doubles- Delaney Osbeck/Micayla Zynda, Chelsea
- 3 doubles- Joy McCarthy/Erin Koch, Chelsea
- 4 doubles- Genny Stubbs/Jacqueline Barbour, Chelsea
Chelsea’s doubles teams played very well, Pedlow said. “They used the elements to their advantage and played aggressively at the net. It was a tough day to get lobs to fall, so the girls played smart and attempted to take the net away from their opponents.”
The No. 1 doubles team of Oberholtzer and Katz played very well, some of their best tennis this season, the coach said.
“They absolutely dominated two of the matches and came back to take a tough match against a very good opponent in Dearborn,” he said.
At No. 2 doubles, Osbeck and Zynda continued to improve together. “This is the first year these two have been a doubles team, and you wouldn’t know it by watching them.”
Both third year varsity players, they have the experience that often wins tough matches, the coach said.
The No. 3 doubles team of Koch and McCarthy “stepped up big,” as the team’s regular No. 3 doubles team was out of the state on a trip.
McCarthy and Koch won their flight and gained a lot of experience and confidence, the coach said, which will pay off as they move to the starting line up in the future.
“Both of them looked very calm and confident out there,” Pedlow said.
At No. 4 doubles, both Stubbs and Barbour once again played “a very unorthodox style, but had success,” the coach said.
The doubles team is still undefeated for the season at 8-0 and are looking to make a run at a regional final match up.
“Barbour really covered the court well, and Stubbs was consistent throughout the day,” the coach said.
Overall, he characterized the quad match as “an interesting day of tennis.”
He said the wind and cold delayed the match for two hours, but once the girls starting playing he didn’t hear any complaining from any of the teams.
“They were excited to finally get a day of hitting in, and hopefully this weather is now behind us,” Pedlow said.
Two of the teams there had only played one match all year, so it was good for everyone to be able to get in the quad.
“There was some very good tennis played Saturday; the top two Trenton girls played very well,” Pedlow said.
At No. 3 singles, EJ Lin “had an impressive day,” the coach said. She was up 7-2 against the Trenton opponent, but lost the match. EJ had been sick for a couple of days, I wasn’t sure if she was going to play or not, and after she lost the Trenton match I thought she was done for the day, he said.
“But she found the ability to continue play and didn’t lose again the rest of the day,” Pedlow said, adding, “I was impressed with her resolve and her ability to fight through her sickness.”
