Warrior netters defeat Torrey Pines

Fallbrook High School’s girls’ tennis team defeated Torrey Pines for what is believed to be the first time ever.

The September 24 match at the Fallbrook Tennis Club saw the Warriors prevail over the Falcons on the tiebreaking criteria of games won after each team had won nine sets.

High school tennis matches consist of 18 sets, and if each team wins nine sets the total amount of games won is used to determine the match winner.

Fallbrook players won 76 games while Torrey Pines won 73.

“It was just incredible,” said Fallbrook coach Dave Ramirez. “It was one of the most fun times I’ve ever experienced.”

Torrey Pines has won 19 consecutive CIF championships and 19 consecutive league championships. The Falcons had also won 215 consecutive league matches before Fallbrook’s victory.

“It was a really dramatic match,” Ramirez said. “It came down to the last set.”

That last set involved Fallbrook junior Jessica Willett and Torrey Pines freshman Marion Bouillin.

Willett, who was feeling ill that day, went down three games to none but won the next five games.

Bouillin then won the next three games. “The other girl fought back pretty hard,” Ramirez said.

Willett then won the next game to tie the set at six games apiece and send it into a tiebreaker, where Willett prevailed seven points to three.

Each team has three singles players who play sets against each of the other team’s three singles players, and each team has three doubles teams who play sets against each of the opponents’ doubles teams.

“Experience-wise, they were outmatched by Torrey Pines,” Ramirez said of his players. “But they were just fighting really, really hard and going for every point.”

Willett won two of her three sets, as did junior Hailey Johnson and freshman Monica Robinson.

Fallbrook’s doubles team of senior Michaela Johnson and freshman Phyllis Van den Berg won two of their three sets against Torrey Pines, and freshman Hanli Van den Berg and junior Tanya Hasvold won one set.

Although the doubles team of seniors Beth Dunckel and Tuongvi Cao didn’t win any sets against the Falcons, they won a total of 11 games in the 6-4, 6-3, and 6-4 losses to help account for Fallbrook’s positive differential.

“Those games were significant in helping us,” Ramirez said.

“It really showed how everybody’s games just really helped the whole team,” said assistant coach Linda Johnson.

The match against Torrey Pines was the Avocado League opener for Fallbrook. The Warriors improved their overall season record to 7-2 with the win over the Falcons.

“Girls are doing a great job and working really hard,” Ramirez said.