At the beginning of the season, the Turlock High girls tennis team made it a goal to go undefeated in the 2022 season to honor their head coach, Linda Bejaran, who is retiring at the end of the year. So far, so good for the Bulldogs. On Tuesday, the undefeated ‘Dogs took the short crosstown trip to Pitman High School to face the rival Pride.
But nearly four hours of intense competition was not enough to decide a clear winner between the two teams. Due to darkness, the marquee matchup will finish up today at the Pitman High tennis courts. Up to this point, the margin between the two squads is fractional.
Of the seven completed matches on Tuesday, four have gone the way of the Pride while three have been won by the Bulldogs.
In a doubles matchup, Turlock’s Nina Hoobyar and Sienna Butland took down Pitman’s Hailey Beltran and Samantha Robinson 7-6 (7-4) and 6-1. The other two Turlock victories also came in two sets as Brynn Cardoza won over Gianna Barkhoy with a pair of 6-2 sets and Sophia Butland was victorious over Pavit Saini 1-6 and 3-6.
Pitman also won a doubles match as Jasmeet Manesh and Simar Kaur took down Susana Acosta and Audrey Gemperle 6-2 and 7-5. The Pride also saw dominant wins by Kennedi Amaya and Vanessa Hulbert. Amaya bested Ibella Bustos by set scores of 6-0 and 6-1 while Hulbert beat Christopher with a pair of 6-2 sets.
One of the most entertaining and tightly contested matchup of the evening came by way of Pitman’s Megan Schweitzer and Turlock’s Lindsey Huh. In a match that lasted over three hours, Schweitzer pulled away in the final set to come out as the winner in a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 thriller.
Today, the final score will finally be settled.
In the third and final doubles matchup between the two teams, Pitman’s Nevaeh Montoya and Emily Hasten-Perez currently find themselves in a tie with Turlock’s Kandi Barindelli and Chloe Barrett. The Pride took the first set 6-4 while the Bulldogs won set two by a score of 3-6.
Also finishing today will be the two No.1 ranked singles players for each of the local teams. At the time of the day’s suspended play, Turlock’s Hannah Sahota found herself with a close lead over Pitman’s Alice Stessman. If Sahota’s lead stands, the doubles matchup will be the deciding factor in the overall contest.
It’s exactly what you’d want in a good rivalry.