The girls’ varsity tennis team suffered their first loss of the season to Branson by a score of 6-3 on Monday.
After a slow start, Redwood temporarily took the lead in several single matches, giving the Giants hope for a comeback. However, Branson was able to regain control and Redwood finished with only two singles victories.
Lise Swain, Redwood’s top-ranked player, won her match by a score of 6-2, 6-1.. The Giants’ only other singles victory came from senior Lindsay Thornton, who won her marathon match in three sets, with scores of 6-1, 5-7 and 10-8, respectively.
The Giants were under extra pressure because of the absence of sophomore Quinn Perozzi, according to junior Devon Cusack.
“We were nervous going into the game, especially because we were missing one of our top players. We knew it was going to be a stressful match,” Cusack said. “I think we would have played a little better if [Perozzi] had played.”
The Redwood team expected a win because they had defeated Branson earlier in the season, according to sophomore Lilly Blanadet, who lost her doubles match by a score of 3-6, 3-6.
However, they knew the match wouldn’t be easy as Branson has been one of the top three teams in MCAL for the past several years, along with Tam and Redwood.
“Although we were all hoping to win, Branson is a great team and it was on the edge. It could have been one team or the other,” Blanadet said.
Redwood had an uneven start to its double matches, losing the first and winning the second. The final doubles match, between Redwood duo Molly Kehoe and Zoe Babikian and Branson’s Emma Hirschkop and Emily Wells, was especially tense, but ultimately ended with a Branson victory.
Redwood will look to rebound in their next match at Justin-Siena on Thursday, Oct. 13.
