Gunn Girls Tennis - Fresno Tournament Update

Jim Gorman, gunntennis@comcast.net

The Gunn High School Girls Tennis Team recently headed to Fresno for a two day tournament, leaving Thursday after school and arriving back in Palo Alto late Saturday night. With Gunn placing first in the second flight of Division Two, the California High School Girls Tennis Classic tournament was a success.

This is the third consecutive year that Gunn has attended the tournament and the best thus far that the girls’ team has placed. Last year, Gunn finished 4th in Division Two at the end of the tournament, so this year's results were a definite improvement. And 20th overall of 111 teams.

Despite the tournament being of Varsity-level, each year, Gunn takes both Varsity and Junior Varsity to Fresno. Playing tough matches in Division Four, JV played with outstanding effort and placed in the middle of Div 4. Since the Fresno Girls Tennis Classic was a pre-season tournament, the trip overall was a great, fun bonding experience for all team members.

Despite the sweltering heat, all of the girls fought hard and were able to come through some very tight matches. "I think my favorite moment was when I won my last match, knowing that the team really needed the victory to pull into 4th place," said number one doubles player Cara Lai. "I'm so proud of my partner and how we didn't crack under pressure."

While tennis is commonly misconceived to be a more individual-like sport, Gunn’s tennis is quite the team. When playing against another school, each team has six possible matches to win. In order to advance to the next round, the school has to win the majority of the matches. "During Fresno, my team and I were pushed to the limits as most of the times, every set, every match, and every game counted," said number four singles player Peying Lee.

Giving a pep talk to her team, number one singles player, Allana Booth said, “It’s not about me, it’s not about you, it’s about the team.” The tournament was a great team effort, not only improving their tennis, but strengthening the team’s bond. Although Gunn lost a very close first match against the strong team of Corona del Mar’s , the team held their ground to win against San Jacquin Memorial, Rio Americano, Oak Ridge, and Buchannan, coming out with an overall 4-1 record.

CHSTC Fresno
Gunn Girls Tennis Team Varsity One
What a close battle!
Won 3 of 3 Team matches in the tiebreaker system when team score was tied 3 all
Finished 1st Flight 2 Division 2

Finished 4th in Division 2

Finished 20 in the state out of 111 teams

Won 4 out of 5 team matches
Won 17 out of 30 individual matches
Won 39 of 68 sets
Won out 4 of 7 (10 point 3rd set tie breakers)
Won 6 of 8 (7 point tiebreakers played at 6 all)
And we can add!
Way to go Gunn Girls

Thanks
Jim Gorman
gunntennis@comcast.net
408-888-3473
(www.gunntennis.net)