By Tuesday, Martin was just a spectator. But the Prospect senior certainly got her money's worth on Monday.

Martin opened CCS play with a hard-earned straight-set win over Pinewood's Liz Ashby, and she came back to win three points against No. 1 seed Saskia Nauenberg of York before losing in straight sets.

All in all, it was quite a finish to a solid high school tennis career for Martin. She held the school's No. 1 singles spot for three years before moving to No. 2 this year, and she capped her high school years with a second-place finish in the Blossom Valley Athletic League (BVAL) tournament.

"She's having an amazing season this year," said first-year coach Stacey Rader of Martin.

After ripping through the regular season with an impressive individual record, Martin fought her way to the finals of the league tournament. She opened with a 6-3, 6-3 win over a Leigh opponent, then defeated Tammy Tran of Oak Grove 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals.

Martin dropped a 6-2, 6-1 nod to Tina Tran in the league championship match to wind up second in the BVAL.

Tran went on to reach the semifinals of the CCS singles tournament, and Martin played well before losing her second match of the first day.

Martin opened with a straight-set win over Ashby. The two were locked in a 6-6 tie in the first set, but Martin won the tiebreaker 7-3 to win 7-6. The Prospect star came back to take the second set 6-2 to win the match.

But Martin lost 6-2, 6-1 to Nauenberg to face elimination. Nauenberg lost to Stephanie Schnitter of St. Francis in the CCS title match.

Westmont's Katherine Bamford and Anna Yamashita also made it to the CCS tournament, representing the Warriors in doubles play. The Westmont twosome lost 6-2, 6-5 to a Palo Alto pair in the first round.

Photographs by George Sakkestad Doubles Troubles: Westmont's Katherine Bamford (left) and Anna Yamashita reached the CCS tournament after finishing second in the league. They lost their first section match.

Gazlay and Stern had opened the league tournament with a 6-1, 6-1 win over a Branham twosome. But the Prospect pair lost to Bamford and Yamashita, then lost 7-5, 6-4 to Stephanie Mansfield and Caitlin Hannon of Willow Glen in the third-place match.

Martin, Gazlay and Stern were the leaders of the Prospect squad that finished second in the BVAL's rugged Mt. Hamilton Division this fall.

"Our fantastic performance this season is due largely to the play of our returning seniors, many of whom have been playing together all four years of high school," said Rader. "Not only are they talented and gracious tennis players, they are a lot of fun off the courts as well."

Along with Martin in the singles roster and Gazley and Stern at the top of the doubles list, Rader was pleased with the performance of sophomore Jovanna Pavisic, who moved into the No. 1 singles spot this fall.

"She's a powerful player and a fantastic person," said Rader of Pavisic.

Seniors Rachel Oakzaki and Marina Shlyapina rounded out the singles ladder for the Panthers this season.