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Warrior netters reach CIF semifinals

Fallbrook High School’s girls tennis team reached the CIF Division I semifinals before losing to Rancho Bernardo in that round of the playoffs.

The Warriors followed a first-round bye with a 13-5 home win November 1 over La Costa Canyon. Rancho Bernardo advanced to the finals with a 13-5 victory November 2.

“I’m really happy that they did well. We had a really great season as a team,” said Fallbrook coach Dave Ramirez.

The playoff results gave Fallbrook a final regular-season record of 21-5. The record includes an 8-0 statistic in Avocado League competition, which gave the Warriors their third consecutive Avocado League championship.

The Warrior tennis team was hit hard by the Rice Fire. Angela Maddock, who is on Fallbrook’s #1 doubles team, lost her home. Although #1 singles player Roxanne Parker’s house was spared, the Parker family lost their grove from the fire. The fire also consumed the home of one of Fallbrook’s junior varsity players.

The CIF San Diego Section cancelled all sports contests for the week of October 22-27 due to the fires in San Diego County, which ended the tennis regular season a week earlier than scheduled. Practices between October 22 and October 29 were also prohibited.

“I think the fire really affected us,” Ramirez said. “We only had one day of practice.”

Ramirez sensed that adverse effect even in Fallbrook’s win. “Even against LCC we were very, very rusty. We didn’t do well at all,” he said.

“It just wasn’t a very good showing against LCC,” Ramirez said. “It really affected us against Rancho Bernardo.”

Maddock and Jessica Willett, who won all three sets against La Costa Canyon, only won one of the three sets against Rancho Bernardo.

Parker lost two sets and won one in the semifinals, and #2 singles player Hailey Johnson, who only lost one set during the season, also lost to two Bronco opponents while winning one. “They just were so rusty,” Ramirez said.

Junior Raeanne Dupont, Fallbrook’s #3 singles player, won two sets against La Costa Canyon and one against Rancho Bernardo. “She’s the one that’s really stepped up,” Ramirez said. “I think she just did everything well.”

Fallbrook had earned the third seed in the CIF Division I playoffs. Rancho Bernardo had been seeded second. “We did very well to get there,” Ramirez said of reaching the semifinals.

The team includes only three seniors: Maddock, Spencer Spagnuola, and Ashley Dirrigo.

The team competition was followed by the individual league and CIF tournaments, and the Fallbrook players saw the Rancho Bernardo loss as a lesson learned. “They took that in stride,” Ramirez said. “It’s really motivated them.”

 

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