Cats blank Tomahawks

With the second half of the season just around the corner, Oak Harbor tennis coach Horace Mells couldn’t be more pleased with where his team sits.

The Wildcats wrapped up their first half of the season Tuesday, with a dominating 7-0 victory over Marysville-Pilchuck, moving the team record to 5-3.

“The girls are in good spirits, they’re healthy, so we’re doing good,” Mells said.

Number one singles player, Kara Merriman, improved her individual record to 7-1, beating Adriana Rascon in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

“She’s been playing well,” Mells said. “She started kind of slow, but she’s picked it up.”

Merriman, who was hampered with injuries all of last season, has remained healthy thus far. Her only loss came on Monday, 6-3, 7-6 (3), to Angela Schonberg of Stanwood.

“She’s an athlete,” Mells said of Merriman. “She can get the balls back so quickly.

The only reason she will lose is if she’s making mistakes.”

Also victorious on Tuesday, was number two singles player, senior Joan Gailo, who won her match in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 over Chandra Lentz. The win pushed Gailo’s record to 5-3 overall.

Number three Amy Berg won her match, 6-3, 7-5, moving to 6-2 on the season, while number four Pristine Santos also took her match in two sets, 6-2, 6-2.

All three doubles teams also won their matches in straight sets — something that Mells was very happy with.

“They’ve had a lot of drills, they’re picking it up,” he said of the doubles teams.

The number one team of Kristi Goebel and Abigail Pruss won their fourth match of the season, 6-4, 7-5 (3).

“They’ve been fighting, they’ve been doing great,” Mells said.

Also victorious were the number two team of Erin Jewell and Christine Connelly, along with the number three team of Maile McCumber and Andrea Mora.

Oak Harbor will begin the second half of the season Tuesday, April 26 on the road against Cascade. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats in a close match 4-3 to start the season off.

Mells thinks that gained experience from the doubles teams could change Oak Harbor’s luck this time around.

“We may get one or two doubles — we’re going to try,” he said.

Singles-Merriman (OH) def. Rascon 6-1, 6-1; Gailo (OH) def. Lentz 6-3, 6-1; Berg (OH) def. Fisher 6-3, 7-5; Santos (OH) def. Ward 6-2, 6-2. Doubles-Goebel-Pruss (OH) def. Mead-Benson 6-4, 7-5; Jewell-Connelly (OH) def. Hrubesky-Griep 6-0, 6-1; McCumber-Mora (OH) def. Eilertsen-Hammer 6-4, 6-1.

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