Redlands, California - Today at the Jim Verdieck Tennis Center, the Ephs found themselves on the right side of a 4-3 score line against the Redlands' Bulldogs.
Starting off in doubles, the Ephs continued their strong play to secure yet another doubles point. At #3, Margaux Molyneux and Mia Thomann secured a quick win 6-3. Julia Zhang and Mia Roets fell 4-6 at #2. It all came down to court #1. Yuu Ishikawa and Jane Ladaga defeated a talented team with their flawless net play and some big serves. Although they were the last to finish, the pair won handily with a score of 6-2.
Heading into singles play, the Ephs were ready for a battle. At #3, Molyneux was the first to finish. After going up 5-2 in both sets, she was able to close it out with some hard hitting rallies 6-4, 6-4. Ahn Lin followed shortly after at #6 singles, winning 6-4, 6-2, putting yet another point on the board for the Ephs. Yuu Ishikawa fell to a very consistent player at #1 singles. At #5, Roets fell 2-6, 5-7, however, she fought back from down 1-5 in the second set to help her teammates through their matches.
With the overall match score at 3-2, either Zhang or Thomann, at #2 and #4, had to win in order to clinch the match for the Ephs. Both players had lost their first sets, but battled back to win their second sets. Thomann was down 3-5 in the third, but managed to pull out a 7-5 win and clinch the match for the Ephs. Zhang fell shortly after, leaving the overall match score 4-3 in the Ephs' favor.
Coach Cepeda commented on the win, "Great match today and a gritty win against a solid Redlands team. It took all 8 locked in and supporting one another from start to finish to get it done. Big effort from Mia to turn the third set around. She kept battling and it made all the difference."
The Ephs have a quick turnaround, playing Pomona tomorrow at 9 AM PT.
