Benicia High’s girls tennis team repeated history on Tuesday with a hard-fought 6-3 victory at Vanden.
The win capped a perfect 15-0 season in Solano County Athletic Conference play, Benicia’s second straight perfect SCAC campaign. The Lady Panthers now await the SCAC Singles and Doubles Tournament next week in Vacaville and automatically qualify for the Sac-Joaquin Section team tournament, which begins in November.
“We did it again!” said Benicia head coach Lisa Burton. “I am so proud of this team and feel that a lot of their success comes from the conditioning they are put through from assistant coach Melanie Voss. All the running and line sprints only makes them stronger and faster.”
Benicia No. 1 singles player Michelle Li had an early lead against Vanden No. 1 Kiwi McDaniel but lost 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-1. McDaniel, who beat Li in last year’s SCAC singles championship match, won 2-of-3 meetings against Li this season.
Lily Hayward battled her way to a 6-2, 7-6 (7-0) victory in No. 2 singles for the Lady Panthers. Teammate Samantha Beyer had the most competitive match of the day at No. 3 singles and lost to Erika Rumbaoa, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 10-8.
“Sam did a good job changing strategies to keep Erika on the run, but ultimately was out-paced,” Burton said.
The Lady Panthers dominated the bottom of the singles ladder. Madeline Beyer and Melanie Fisher each cruised to 6-1, 6-3 victories. Nicole Go was a 6-2, 6-0 winner in No. 6 singles.
Katie Voss and Gabriella Traver cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in No. 1 doubles. Milagros Esmerode and Megan Klein were 6-0, 6-4 winners in No. 3 doubles. Adelina Morley and Madison Lammert put up a good fight in No. 2 doubles but lost 6-1, 7-5.
“An improved Vanden doubles team and a few too many unforced errors caused the Panther team to lose only their second match for the season,” Burton noted. “But we look forward to next week’s individual tournament and the team playoffs.”
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