Ramona High tennis team trounces Brawley
By Bill Tamburrino
Ramona High School’s tennis team picked up its first win of the season by beating Mission Hills High School 15-3 at Riviera Oaks.
Dayna Lake set the tone in the number one singles spot by winning three sets, posting scores of 6-0, 6-1 and 6-0 in the 105-degree heat.
Taylor Romero picked up 2 team points for the Bulldogs with sets of 6-0, 4-6 and 6-3, Ellen Douglass also took two sets for Ramona with scores of 6-1 and 6-2, and then having to retire with an injury while leading 2-1.
Savannah Goodson and Rachel Vaca won three sets handily with scores of 6-4, 6-1 and 6-1. Rebecca Vaca and Lauren Dunker won 3 team points by posting scores of 7-5, 6-2 and 6-1.
Hannah Kramer and Dallas Forbes picked up two sets for the Lady Dawgs with scores of 3-6, 6-1 and 6-1.
The weather was nice for the visiting Brawley Wildcats, but the Lady Bulldogs were not too nice. They beat Brawley 18-0.
Lake recorded three perfect sets turning in scores of 6-0 across the board. Goodson, playing singles for the first time this season, didn’t need a partner as she went 6-1, 6-1 and 6-0. Taylor Romero also picked up 3 team points with scores of 6-3, 6-2 and 6-0.
In doubles action Hannah Kramer and Dallas Forbes recorded three perfect sets with scores of 6-0 in each set. Lauren Dunker and Kelly Gallagher won three sets by going 6-1, 6-2 and 6-0.
The number one doubles team was the big story. For the first time in Lady Bulldog tennis history, Ramona fielded a doubles team of sisters. Senior Rachel Vaca teamed up with her ninth-grade sister Rebecca and the dual won three sets. They lost their first game and then won 18 straight games.
“I picked up my first racquet when I was about 5 and Rebecca started playing when she was 5,” said Rachel. “We have gone to tennis camps together and play often together. We had a lot of fun and it was a cool family experience because my mom (Laura) and my dad (Rick) were able to attend and see us play.”
Rebecca said she wasn’t nervous.
“It took me a little while to warm up and get into a rhythm,” she said. “It was a lot of fun, especially since we won three sets and we won as a team.”
Laura Vaca played tennis for the Lady Bulldogs and was a member of the first team to ever win a match.
“Rachel really got serious about tennis when she got to high school,” said Rick Vaca. ‘Rebecca got serious a little sooner than that, probably because she saw what a good experience Rachel was having. They really get along well. Rachel is a very good big sister.”