Girls tennis: No. 5 St. Margaret’s edges No. 10 Sage Hill

Girls tennis: No. 5 St. Margaret's edges No. 10 Sage Hill

October 18th, 2008, 5:33 pm · 3 Comments · posted by ARTIE CASAS, OCREGISTER.COM

Momentum can carry a team to victory.

St. Margaret's captured that momentum when Mary Rachel Walsh and Allie Davis beat Sage Hill's Rain Billingsley and Isa-Maria Taskinen, 6-4, in the girls tennis No.1 doubles set.

That win propelled the Tartans to a 10-8 victory over the Lightning on Friday at the Balboa Bay country club.

The match had big implications for a number of reasons.

The first was for bragging rights between the two rival schools, St. Margaret's (12-0) now has two wins over Sage Hill this season.

Secondly, the Tartans retained their No.1 ranking in the CIF-SS Division IV poll and No. 5 ranking in the Register poll.

Lastly, St. Margaret's took full control of the chase for an Academy League title.

Sage Hill's No.1 singles player Julia Blakeley had a dominant outing winning her three set decisively (6-0, 6-0, 6-0).

The Tartans seven to nine edge in doubles proved to be the difference in the match.

"They are the best team we have played this year," Sage Hill coach A.G. Longoria said. "I did not think we could play with them but the girl's left if out there, I was extremely proud of them."

Round two in this Academy League showdown will take place next Thursday on St. Margaret's home court.

"We may not be able to beat them but I think we earned their respect,” Longoria said.

“That is all I can ask of them."

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Posted in: Girls Tennis • Artie Casas

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First Timer..the Rivalry. says:

October 18, 2008 at 8:53 pm

The girls of St Margaret exhibited the confidences of dominance before the game even started. They knew they were going to win today,at the home of the Sage Lightning, but they could not tell you the final score, which was 10-8. The difference in these two games was the preparedness of the young ladies and that fell directly on the shoulders of Coach Rich Trager

Coach Rick had his girls prepared like a fine tuned piano... w/ each individual key when struck in a certain sequence made a wonderful sound that could be heard throughout the BBRC.. (Well depends if you were a Lightning and/or Tartan's fan(smile) ) My experience w/ Coach Trager has been nothing but pleasant and competitive and to watch him tonight was one of admiration. Coach was there on the court w/ his players encouraging w/ powerful words...and also had time to converse w/ the parents of his players and also the parents of the opponents players...he should be in politics (LOL). Good Job Coach Rick and the Tartans of St Margaret.

Oh...one more note...my daughters experienced their first full-on rivalry and as they watch the Tartans celebrate on their home court and the disappointment on their faces...my youngest stated " Seven more days, huh Dad?"
"Yes, sweetheart, seven more days!"
She looked at the oldest and stated "Let go hit some volleys!"

Hey A.G. like you said "This rivalry is alive and kicking!"

Round II in 7 days.....