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Homuth reaches second round of CIF tournament

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Three Fallbrook High School girls tennis players competed in the singles portion of the CIF individual tournament Nov. 1-5 at the Balboa Tennis Club in San Diego.

A win in the first round gave freshman Leyla Homuth a second-round match. Fallbrook senior Alexa Guadarrama and sophomore Angie Palmerin both lost in the first round. The first two rounds were contested Nov. 1.

Guadarrama had a first-round match against Vincent Memorial junior Deborah Duarte, who won 6-2 and 6-1 sets. “She drew a really good player, and I think she actually played really well,” said Fallbrook coach Bill Lenaway.

“We had some good rallies,” Guadarrama said. “I feel like I did well against her.”

Both Guadarrama and Duarte placed second in their league tournaments. Guadarrama and Homuth played each other in the Valley League final with Homuth obtaining the victory for the league championship. Vincent Memorial is in the Imperial Valley League, and Duarte reached the final of that league’s tournament.

“I had a good time playing against her, and she was a really good player,” Guadarrama said of Duarte.

“Deborah had a really good match. All her shots were good. Basically she was on court,” said Vincent Memorial coach Ricardo Uribe.

“They were good high-quality points. They’re fun to watch,” Lenaway said.

The match was on Stadium Court at the Balboa Tennis Club, so Guadarrama closed out her high school career on Stadium Court. “That was awesome,” she said.

Guadarrama had played on Stadium Court as a freshman. “That was really cool,” she said. “I’m just really glad I got to play on it my senior year.”

Duarte also won her second-round match before losing to eventual semifinalist Amani Shah of Del Norte.

Fallbrook lost to Mater Dei in the first round of the CIF team tournament Oct. 25. In that match, Palmerin had a set against Mater Dei sophomore Isabella Arnaiz, who won 6-1. Palmerin and Arnaiz faced each other six days later in the first-round individual tournament match.

The first set of the Nov. 1 match was tied at six games apiece. A tie breaking game to seven points was played, and Palmerin obtained a 7-4 triumph. Arnaiz evened the match with a 6-3 victory in the second set. A tie breaking game to 10 points rather than a full third set decided the match, and Arnaiz won by a 10-1 score.

“I think I really improved on it. The first time I played her, she beat me really bad,” Palmerin said. “I improved myself a lot and mentally prepared myself for playing her better.”

“I thought her match was great,” Lenaway said. “For Angie to come and split sets with her and go to a super tiebreaker I thought was fantastic.”

“We both made each other run a lot today, which is very tiring,” Palmerin said. “I had to stay strong.”

Palmerin believes that fatigue was responsible for Arnaiz’s comeback. “Mentally I was still there, and I did not quit until the end,” she said.

In the Valley League tournament, Homuth defeated Palmerin in the semifinals and a loss in the third-place match gave Palmerin fourth for the league tournament. Arnaiz lost in the final of the Metro League tournament to take second place in that league.

Homuth began CIF individual tournament play with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Oceanside sophomore Mia Ramirez. “It was a good match,” Homuth said.

“Leyla took care of business first round,” Lenaway said.

Scripps Ranch sophomore Shreya Bharath won a 6-0, 6-0 first-round match and faced Homuth in the second round. “I was excited to go to that one because she was ranked way higher than me,” Homuth said. “She was really good. I’m happy that I got to play her.”

Experience against higher-level competition rather than a win was the outcome for Homuth. Bharath won 6-2 and 6-1 sets. “It was a good match. It was competitive, I thought,” Homuth said.

“It was great points and long points,” Lenaway said. “The other girl just got a little bit of an upper hand.”

Although Bharath was the only Western League singles player in the tournament who was not seeded, she reached the semifinals of that tournament.

 

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