VPS racket girls
fall prey to Saxons
By Misty Volaski

For the past 20 years, Cate High School has dominated Condor League girls' tennis, taking first since 1983. Villanova's girls finally managed an upset in 2003, taking the league title from Cate during one of the Wildcats' last regular-season games. The girls made history, both by besting Cate and by giving the school its first-ever league championship.

In the CIF postseason, Villanova (13-3) has thus far bested Whittier (No. 2 Del Rio League) by a score of 11-7, but lost and North Torrance (No. 2 Ocean League), 10-8, to end the Wildcats' playoff berth.

Against Whittier, Villanova's Fernanda Zapata and doubles team Sarah Roussin and Ariana Lujan all swept their sets. Zapata clinched the win for VPS with a third-round victory over Cardinal Valerie Murillo.
Other notables of the day included 'Cats Alexandra Gibbs and Jessica Campbell. The girls came back from a 1-5 deficit to win six straight games for a 7-5 win.

However, Villanova's berth in the play-offs was cut short in the second-round match by North Torrance, who ousted VPS by a slim 10-8.

"We were confident going into the match," VPs head coach Brian Grisin said. "The exciting win against Cate the week prior put us into the right mental framework for the play-offs."

But North Torrance preyed on the VPS doubles girls, pounding them with eight wins to 'Nova's two (by Lujan and Roussin), making it almost impossible for the Wildcats to catch up.

But the girls came close, with both Zapata and Lauren Sims sweeping their singles matches.

In the final set of the day, Niamh Daly and Sophia Miles were down 1-5 against Breanna Anderson and Sandra Troung Ngoc. The Wildcats made a valiant comeback to tie it at five-all. Despite all the goods Villanova could dish out, North Torrance pulled out the tightly contested match, 7-5, to clinch the second round victory.

Villanova will be sending Sims and Zapata for CIF Individuals, and Lujan and Roussin for CIF Doubles. Zapata and Sims, along with No. 3 singles player Niki Blumberg, were key in the Condor League success this season. They posted a combined 48-5 record against their league opponents (Zapata, 16-2, Sims, 16-1 and Blumberg, 16-2).

"(Zapata) motivated and gave helpful tips and insights to other players on the team," said Grisin. And, despite her ankle injury, Sims continued throughout the season. "There is no doubt we couldn't have gotten this far without her," enthused Grisin.

"As a coach, I am not only proud of our accomplishments, but also the way we achieved our goals," added Grisin. "We played with a high level of sportsmanship and pride for our school. I couldn't be prouder of our girls, both as tennis players and as classy individuals."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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