The City College women’s tennis team won its sixth match in a row Tuesday, narrowly edging Santa Monica 5-4 at Pershing Park.
After losing to Santa Monica in February, the Vaqueros turned around and changed the outcome of the game. Santa Monica ironically beat the Vaqueros with the same score, 5-4.
The first time the Vaqueros played them, many of the teammates were injured or ineligible to compete. Once the Vaqueros got their entire squad together, they were sure they would prevail.
“I was pretty confident about it. We had the whole team and we were prepared for them,” freshman Marcela Massaglia said.
The Vaqueros also felt a sense of validity when they competed against Glendale last week and won. Glendale also beat Santa Monica.
“When we beat Glendale the girls felt very confident in their game and their style,” team captain Gabriela McDaniel said.
Freshman Tess Kolkman, who did not play in February’s game against Santa Monica, helped contribute to Tuesday’s win. She scored two perfect matches, 6-0 singles, then continued to play and win doubles with teammate Zionne Lee. Lee also won her singles matches with a 6-1, 7-5 lead.
Two-time victory athletes of the Vaqueros also included Massaglia with a score of 6-1, 6-2 and Amanda Berke with a score of 6-1, 6-0.
“Getting a win against this team is definitely good,” head coach Lance Kronberg said.
Santa Monica’s car broke down on the way to the game so the Vaqueros were able to use that to their advantage, allowing them more practice time. The game started nearly an hour late. Normally, the Vaqueros only have enough time to warm up.
“We had extra time to work on a couple things,” Kronberg said. “A couple players had issues they weren’t confident with; one player wanted to work on serves, another player wanted to hit more ground strokes, and we got to do some match-play practice.”
The Vaqueros usually push themselves at practice five days a week, but coach Kronberg decided to let them rest after their win last Friday.
The team consists mostly of freshmen, with the exception of a couple returners. They are a very close-knit team, always cheering on and fist bumping each other after each strong play.
“This is a great squad, this is my fifth team I’ve coached here and it’s neat to see that they’re all friends, they’ve really bonded nicely,” Kronberg said.
The Vaqueros will be competing at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at Ventura. They plan on keeping their winning streak.
“I’m very proud of my team,” McDaniel said. “They did very well today, they carried themselves like Vaqueros. They are Vaqueros.”
