Knights improve to 3-2 in CMC North standings
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FORT BRAGG >> Fort Bragg’s Naman Bhatt put on a show in first singles, but the Kelseyville Knights won the day, beating the Timberwolves 4-1 in Coastal Mountain Conference North action Thursday in Fort Bragg.
“This kid (Bhatt) is the best player I’ve seen in our division since I’ve been coaching,” Kelseyville head coach Andy Dobusch said. “I believe he was a state-ranked player in Kansas before transferring to Fort Bragg. He’s legit and has a chance at our conference championship, which have been dominated by Sonoma Academy and St. Helena for the past decade.”
Kelseyville’s Maddy Borghesani did her best to stay with Naman in first singles, Naman winning 6-1, 6-0.
“Playing against boys of this caliber helps improve Maddy’s game,” Dobusch said. “He’s serving close to 100 mph and she’s battling them back and getting into some great rallies. He’s just at a different level. It was fun to watch.”
Olivia Bushey beat Gavin Wahl 6-4, 6-0 in second singles, rallying from a 4-3 deficit in the first set.
“It took a while for the drive over the mountain to wear off, but when she settled in, the match was over,” Dobusch said of Bushey.
Playing singles for the first time, Brooklyn Young defeated Angelica Lopez 6-0, 6-0 in third singles.
“Brooklyn played a smart and consistent match,” Dobusch said. “She’s not going to overpower her opponents, not yet, but she’s smooth and steady and places the ball well.”
In doubles action, Kelseyville collected two more wins. Riley Lopez and Olivia Raabe beat Rebecca Valenzuela and Estelle Brouard 6-2, 6-0 in first doubles.
“Coming into the match, I thought Riley and Liv would roll over their opponent, so I was a little surprised when the match got off to a 2-2 start,” Dobusch said. “Then they settled in and took care of business as Riley’s court coverage and Olivia’s served proved too much for their opponents to handle.”
Grace Peterson and Gemma Tanti defeated Ethan Zartman and Theodore Gebheim 6-1, 6-0 in second doubles.
“This was Gemma’s first action of the season, and she stepped up and played some solid tennis,” Dobusch said. “As a sophomore, she improved a lot from last year and has the potential to continue improving. She’s got a funky backhand, but it works or her and proves there’s more than one way to get the job done.”
Added Dobusch, “Grace was all over the court today. She probably moved more than anybody on our team. She was very active at the net. There were some great volleys. Her aggressiveness put pressure on the opponents and caused a lot of errors.”
The Knights, now 3-2 in conference action, are right back at it Friday when they host Cloverdale at 4 p.m.
