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After downing Pinewood 6-1 in a second-round match, No. 7 seed Leland was knocked out of the Central Coast Section girls team tennis playoffs by a very strong No. 2 Saratoga team. The Falcons claimed a 7-0 win over the Chargers to move on to the semifinals.
In the second round match-up with Pinewood, the Chargers continued the dominant play that had come to be common for them over the season. Roxy Pourmirzaie dropped a 6-4, 6-3 decision at No. 1 singles, but the rest of the team came through in fine fashion to send Leland on to the quarterfinals.
Lydia Chow (6-2, 6-3) at No. 2 singles, Allison Hsia (6-0, 6-0) at No. 3 and Aileen Tsay (6-3, 6-2) at No. 4 nailed down solid wins. All the doubles teams secured wins as well. No. 1 Katie Alesch and Connie Wang eventually prevailed 2-6, 6-0, 6-3. No. 2 Youngeun Na and Vivian Ngo won 6-3, 6-0 and No. 3 Aggi Bialy and Connie Chen dominated 6-1, 6-1.
"As shown by the score, Allison Hsia dominated her opponent, as she has done all season long," coach Pam Headley said. "Alesch and Wang came out flat and gave the first set away with unforced errors. They turned it around, however, and fought for the victory. They showed a great deal of maturity in their ability to regain focus and dominate the match after a disappointing opening."
Saratoga was a very strong team and certainly deserved the No. 2 seed. Leland played well but was still dominated with a 7-0 loss.
The most exciting match of the contest was at No. 3 doubles with Bialy and Chen. The duo took it to a third-set tiebreaker in a back and forth battle. Chen's "strong net game" and Bialy's "excellent court coverage" kept them in the match to the very end.
"The scores can't reflect the effort that my kids put into this match," Headley said. "Going in as the clear underdog, it would have been very easy for them to give up before they started, but they didn't. I couldn't be more proud of them for that."
Leland completed its season of team play with the loss to Saratoga but the CCS individual tennis championships begin play on Nov. 21 with all matches being played at Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos. Pourmirzaie and Chow are in the singles tournament while Alesch and Wang and Hsia and Tsay are teamed up for the doubles tourney.
"Leland has more kids in the individual tournament than any other school," the coach added. "It's an exceptionally strong year for girls tennis and they have some pretty tough matches ahead of them, but I'm confident they will step up to the challenges and leave everything on the court."
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