TENNIS FALLS TO LA MISSION AT HOME AND MT. SAN JACINTO ON THE ROAD

Against LA Mission, the Marauders fought hard but fell to the visiting Eagles 3-6. In doubles play, Kristi Henderson and Naia Smithley lost 1-8. Brooke Faulk and Sabrina Bulsombut took an early 3-0 lead but ultimately lost 5-8, and Gabriela Garcia and Juliana Martinez were defeated 4-8. The Marauders managed to see some key victories in singles play. At number 2 singles, Naia Smithley picked up her first singles win of the year. After winning the first set 6-1, Smithley was ahead 5-3 before being pushed to a second set tiebreak and winning 7-6 (5). The theme of firsts continued with Brooke Faulk winning at 3 singles. Faulk took the first set 6-3 and was down 1-4 in the second. She then won 6 of the next seven games to win 7-5 in the second set. Juliana Martinez also won her first singles match of the year in the number 6 spot.

After dropping the first set 3-6, Martinez put on a dominating performance winning the last 2 sets 6-0, 6-2. Coach Webb noted, "It was really good to see Brooke and Naia win in singles. They both played doubles only in high school last season, and it seems they are making the necessary adjustments to playing both singles and doubles... I was also pleased to see Juliana take control of her match after dropping the first set. The ability to move past what has happened and focus on what is ahead is something we have focused on as a team."

On Saturday, the Marauders took to the road for a non-conference matchup at Mt. San Jacinto. Although short-handed due to only five players being available, the final outcome was not decided until the completion of the last match. AVC split the doubles matches played on the court with Kristi Henderson and Naia Smithley losing 7-9 and Brooke Faulk and Gabriela Garcia prevailing 8-1 in their first doubles match as partners. In singles play, the Marauders got off to a quick start with dominating wins by Henderson at no. 1 singles(6-0,6-0), Faulk at the no. 3 singles (6-1, 6-0) and Juliana Martinez at No. 5 singles (6-1, 6-3). Naia Smithley lost a hard-fought match at No. 2 singles (5-7, 3-6), bringing the overall match score to 4-4. At No. 4 singles, Gabriela Garcia battled in a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours before falling 5-7, 5-7.

"Gabriela gave us all she had today. She played as best she could with maximum effort playing at No. 4, which was one spot up from her normal position. That is all we can ever ask." Said Coach Webb. "We played well throughout the lineup today. We put ourselves in a position to win, but today Mt. San Jacinto was one better. Several of the ladies have played well in consecutive matches, so I can see that we are improving as the year progresses, which is always the goal." Webb added.

The Marauders will continue their travels as they return to conference play at College of the Canyons on Tuesday, February 15th.