Bulldog girls tennis wins first CIF playoff match, falls in second match to Mt. Carmel
By Bill Tamburrino
The Ramona High School girls tennis team advanced to the CIF playoffs and won their opening playoff match against University City High School but then fell to Mt. Carmel in the quarterfinals. The Bulldog girls finished the season with a winning record of 11-5.
From the very beginning of the season Coach Doug Failla insisted that his team would work hard and improve and the coach was correct. His Lady Dawgs played a tough non-league schedule and then went undefeated in Valley League action.
Ramona High’s tennis team justified its fifth seed in the Division II CIF team playoffs by beating University City High School 13-5 in the first round of the playoffs.
Ramona got outstanding play from its No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams as Rebecca Vaca and Lauren Dunker won three sets with scores of 6-2, 6-4 and 6-0. Vaca and Dunker actually won the set that clinched the match in their second set. Taylor Jennings and Cassidy Owens also won 3 team points by posting dominating scores of 6-1, 6-0 and 6-1. Brie Frandsen and Kacie Jordan played well and contributed to the win by going 4-6, 4-6 and 6-3.
Dayna Lake set the pace in singles action by playing very solid and going 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2. Amanda Massey won one set to earn a team point by going 4-6, 1-6 and 6-2. After a season of action, Jessie Mosser played like anything but a freshman by winning two sets with scores of 6-3, 4-6 and 6-3.
The seeding committee proved correct in the second round matches. Mt. Carmel, the No. 4 seed, beat No. 5 Ramona 11-7 on the winner’s courts.
In doubles action, Jennings and Owens swept their competition by posting scores of 6-1, 6-4 and 6-4 to earn 3 team points. Vaca and Dunker won two sets by going 3-6 and bouncing back to win a 6-3 set and then battling to win a hotly contested 7-5 set. Frandsen and Jordan recorded scores of 1-6, 2-6 and 4-6.
Lake was the only singles player to win a set against the Sundevils. Lake went 3-6 against Lea Antrobus and then rallied to beat Sally Yen and Cyndy Tran 6-3 and 6-2. Massey went 0-6, 0-6 and 1-6, and Mosser went 0-6, 1-6 and 2-6.
Now it is on to the Valley League singles and doubles tournaments to qualify for the CIF singles and doubles tournaments. No Lady Bulldog has advanced to the singles tournament and just one doubles team has advanced to the CIF doubles tournament.