Mustangs sweep singles play, improve to 3-0 in CMC North standings
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KELSEYVILLE >> Defending Coastal Mountain Conference North champion Middletown swept the singles portion of its 4-1 victory over the Kelseyville Knights on Tuesday afternoon at the Gard Street courts in Kelseyville.
Will Hoskins handed Kelseyville’s Maddy Borghesani her first loss of the season, 6-2, 6-3, in first singles.
“Credit to Will for playing a great match,” Kelseyville head coach Andy Dobusch said. “Maddy was serving well, which usually carries her through a match. Will is a quick player that gets everything back, which forces unforced errors.”
Harrison Brown needed three sets to hand Kelseyville’s Ryan Taylor his first loss of the season, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, in second singles.
“This was the match of the day,” Dobusch said. “These two battled it out for almost two hours. Harrison’s feet blistered and Ryan could barely move by the end of the third set. They had long rallies and were playing cat and mouse with each other, drawing one another to the net.”
Added Dobusch, “It was fun to watch. Harrison had a stronger game at the net, which ultimately won him the match.”
Anthony Lopez completed the singles sweep for Middletown by rallying for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 win in third singles over Jesse Barnett, who was playing his first singles match of the season.
“I think its great that Jesse played singles for us,” Dobusch said. “Riley Lopez is our third singles player and was out of the country, so we needed someone to step up. People don’t realize how stressful it is to play singles. It’s just you out there. Everything is magnified and it’s a lot of pressure. Nerves make it hard to accelerate through your swing, which is needed to bring the ball down into the court. Jesse’s got the ability, it’s just hard to do it consistently with confidence.”
Middletown’s Josiah Pike and Leland Pike won 6-1, 6-4 in first doubles, handing the Kelseyville team of Olivia Hommer and Olivia Raabe its first loss of the season.
“The girls played well, they were just overpowered,” Dobusch said. “Leland was impressive at the net. We had a hard time with their aggressiveness and athleticism.”
Kelseyville avoided the sweep behind Bella Patti’s and Riley Hanson’s 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 win over Nalu Johnson and Luis Pamatz in second doubles.
“This is the first time playing together for both teams,” Dobusch said. “Bella and Riley got off to a fast start and were up 5-2 in the first set. The set went to a tiebreak at 6-6, which Kelseyville won 7-5. After almost losing the set and the momentum, the girls had a talk, got refocused and closed out the second set without dropping a game. They’re both quick and communicated really well.”
Though it didn’t count in the final team score, Kelseyville’s Olivia Bushey beat Arianna Sypnicki 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in exhibition singles play.
“Olivia is getting stronger and more consistent with each match she plays,” Dobusch said. “It was a great experience for both girls.”
Middletown is 3-0 in conference play and 4-0 overall. Kelseyville is 2-1 in conference play and 2-1 overall.0
Both teams are back in action Friday at 4 p.m. Kelseyville visits Cloverdale while Middletown hosts Fort Bragg.
