Lily Abdoo, girls tennis
Olivia Henry, girls tennis
FREMONT – The Ross girls tennis team is starting to surprise itself.
The Lady Giants thought they had a chance to be a good team this season but, through six duel matches, they’ve been nearly perfect, particularly in singles play.
Their roll continued Wednesday as they hosted Bowling Green and dispatched the Bobcats, 4-1.
“I’m pretty surprised, only because a lot of people are new to varsity-level playing,” said junior Lily Abdoo, herself a perfect 6-0 at No. 3 singles this season. “I’m proud of everybody. (In) practices, you can tell everybody is putting all their might into practice and it’s showing in matches.”
Abdoo continued her undefeated start to the season, 6-0, 6-0, smoothly making the transition from playing No. 1 doubles last year with now-graduated Katie Kelly.
Gillian Gallagher, girls tennis
“We were undefeated for about eight matches, so I’m kind of hoping for the same,” Abdoo said.
“I like depending on myself, rather than others,” she said, comparing singles to doubles. “It can be frustrating playing doubles if your partner continuously messes up. I feel like relying on myself is nice.”
Like Abdoo, Olivia Henry upper her record to 6-0 in at No. 2 singles. She won her match Wednesday 6-0, 6-1. No. 1 singles, Gillian Gallagher improved to 5-1 thanks to a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Given the singles flights are a combined 17-1 this season, coach Lisa Wolfe has been impressed by the competitiveness of her singles players.
“Bowling Green is a strong team, Norwalk is a strong team, Clyde is definitely a strong team, but they’ve just gone out and produced wins on their courts,” Wolfe said. “They’ve had that determination.”
Natalie Brown and Jurni Kidd won their third straight since being put together at No. 2 doubles. They won their match, 6-2, 6-3.
Jurni Kidd, girls tennis
Natalie Brown, girls tennis
“(Brown and Kidd were) behind and found the strength to change what they were doing wrong and ended up winning the match, so I give them a lot of credit,” Wolfe said. “They were double-faulting so they weren’t taking their time serving and they were not attacking the net, they were sitting back and waiting for the ball instead of being the aggressor. You have to be the aggressor when you’re playing doubles and win points at the net.”
Kidd credited Brown’s positivity for the duo’s success, and said she felt more comfortable playing with Brown in doubles than she’s felt in past playing on her own at single.
“Natalie has really good cross-court (shots) and I get the net shot, if needed,” Kidd said. “We’re a good team together. I like doubles way more than when I play singles. I feel like I work well with other people, instead of by myself.”
The Lady Giants’ only hiccup on the day came at No. 1 doubles where Berlin Swaisgood and Sophia Biggins fell short, 2-6, 6-7 (2-7).
Ross (5-1) opens league play Thursday when it travels to Whitmer.