Warrior netters 5-1 after three weeks of league play

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The first three weeks of Valley League play gave Fallbrook High School's girls tennis team a 5-1 league record.

The Warriors began the second round of league competition at home Sept. 30 against Ramona. A 13-5 Fallbrook victory gave the Warriors an overall mark of 9-3 along with the 5-1 league figure.

"We're getting a lot of our points from the top end of our lineup," said Fallbrook coach Bill Lenaway.

Three singles players from each school play sets against each of the other school's singles players while three doubles tandems from each team face each of their doubles counterparts. The winner of each set receives one team point.

"We haven't lost a set in singles except for Mission Hills," Lenaway said.

Lenaway has been using senior Alexa Guadarrama, sophomore Angie Palmerin, and freshman Leyla Homuth as his singles players. Fallbrook's #1 doubles team consists of senior Carly Hawkins and junior Samantha Hanlon, and they lost only two sets during the Warriors' first six league matches. Tracy Lopez and Erin Rowan, who are both juniors, comprise Fallbrook's #2 doubles team.

The #3 doubles tandem varies from match to match and in some cases from set to set if Lenaway substitutes. Other than junior Cynthia Flor, all of those players are freshmen.

Fallbrook was supposed to host Ramona in the Sept. 14 league opener, but due to a tournament at the Riviera Oaks Racquet Club where Ramona's home matches are played, the Sept. 30 match was moved to Fallbrook and the Sept. 14 match was moved to Ramona. The Warriors took a 12-6 victory in their league opener.

The Warriors obtained a 16-2 triumph Sept. 16 at Escondido. The Cougars' two points were from Escondido's top doubles team of Carolina Cruz Delgado and Lauren Ice winning two sets. "Escondido we beat pretty badly," Lenaway said.

Valley Center traveled to Fallbrook High School for a Sept. 21 match. The Warriors won by a 13-5 margin.

Mission Hills allowed six points, five to San Pasqual and one to Escondido, in the Grizzlies' first three league matches. Fallbrook and Mission Hills were both undefeated in league play prior to the Sept. 23 competition at Mission Hills. The Grizzlies' 12-6 victory gave the Warriors their first league loss of 2021.

"Their strengths are kind of the same as our strengths," Lenaway said.

Lenaway explained that Fallbrook and Mission Hills both have strong singles contingents. "Their doubles are deeper than ours," he said.

Mission Hills won five of the nine singles sets. Homuth won two sets and had a 6-4 loss while Guadarrama and Palmerin captured one set apiece with each having a 6-3 loss. Hawkins and Hanlon had the only two doubles wins for Fallbrook and lost their other set by a 6-3 score.

Fallbrook won all nine singles sets in the 12-6 victory Sept. 28 at San Pasqual High School while prevailing in three doubles sets. Hawkins and Hanlon won two sets. If the players split the first 12 games, a tie breaking game to seven points, with the requirement that a player or doubles team must win by at least two points, is played. When Hawkins and Hanlon played senior Savannah Parke and junior Ella Nosti, a tie breaking game was needed. Parke and Nosti won that 10-8 game to win a 7-6 set.

In the 2020-21 league tournament, Hawkins and Hanlon needed three sets to defeat Parke and Nosti in the quarterfinals. The Fallbrook players began the match with a 6-4 win. Parke and Nosti prevailed in the 7-5 second set. Hawkins and Hanlon won the 11-9 tie breaker. Parke and Nosti won two backdraw matches to capture fifth place and a berth in the CIF tournament.

Lopez and Rowan obtained Fallbrook's other doubles point against San Pasqual with a 7-5 victory.

Hawkins and Hanlon swept their sets during the Sept. 30 match against Ramona. Lopez and Rowan won a 6-4 set for the other doubles point.

Lenaway acknowledges the weakness of his #3 doubles players. "They're just very inexperienced players," he said. "They need to just play more tennis."

More experience will likely improve the bottom of Fallbrook's lineup, which could include lessons and local tournaments if the players are willing. "It's going to get solved in the off-season," Lenaway said. "Hopefully they'll spend some time playing."