Canyon tennis takes down Castaic, 12-6 

Canyon Cowboys doubles player Nadeen Ayoub looks at the ball before returning it with a forehand during a Foothill league match up between the Castaic Coyotes and the Canyon Cowboys at Castaic High School on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. The Cowboys defeated the Coyotes 12-6. Chris Torres/The Signal
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Canyon girls’ tennis got a much-needed win on Thursday over the hosting Castaic Coyotes.  

The Cowboys registered most of their points from the singles’ side, where the team won all nine games.  

No. 1 singles Nikhol De Jose swept her matches, winning 6-2, 6-2 and 6-1.  

No. 2 singles Zoe Brown won her matches 6-1, 7-5 and 6-0. Brown’s opening match with Castaic No. 2 singles Kaitlyn Reimbold was a long one. Brown and Reimbold both fought in rally after rally. Both also would go on runs thanks to some strong serving. 

Reimbold and Castaic No. 1 Christine Lee were swept on the day but showed a ton of skill. Both were able to keep it close throughout their games and will return next year for the Coyotes. 

Castaic Coyotes singles one player Christine Lee returns the ball with a forehand during a Foothill league match up between the Castaic Coyotes and the Canyon Cowboys at Castaic High School on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. The Cowboys defeated the Coyotes 12-6. Chris Torres/The Signal

Canyon No. 3 singles Dziyana Haiduk won her matches 6-0, 6-1 and 6-1. Haiduk is the usual Cowboys’ No. 1 singles but has missed a few weeks due to injury and illness. The team was enthused to welcome her back to the lineup and she didn’t disappoint. 

“It’s great to have Dziyana back after being sick and injured,” said Canyon head coach Dennis Yong. “Dziyana has an all-around game and has all the shots. Her groundstrokes are deep with topspin. She can do slice, drop shot, and top-spin lobs, which makes it difficult for her opponents to get in a rhythm. We can always count on Dziyana getting some wins in most of the matches.” 

Coyotes’ doubles No. 2 team of Abigail Barquero and Jaden Austria swept all of their matches on the day with scores of 6-0, 6-4 and 6-0. 

“The team is a really nice group of girls with great sportsmanship and a desire to improve and grow,” said Castaic coach Rob Chew. “Many of them have only picked up tennis in the last couple of years whereas many of our opponents have players who have been playing for a very long time.” 

Castaic’s No. 3 doubles pair of Kendra Leurox and Maya Guiza took two points on Thursday. Leurox and Guiza dropped one match 2-6, but won their other two, 6-4 and 6-0, to end their day. 

Canyon No. 1 doubles team of Nour Abobakr and Jennica Noche also won two of their matches. The two finished their day with 6-3 and 6-2 wins. 

“Nour and Jennica are both smart tennis players and would give 110% on every point,” said Yong. “They are both very gritty and never give up on anything. Raj and Nadeen play very well together. They had two other close matches, losing them at 4-6 and 4-6. They are both solid individual players and make a great team.” 

The victory avenges Castaic’s previous win over Canyon, the Coyote tennis program’s first-ever victory. 

Both teams will be back on the courts on Tuesday as the season winds down. Castaic will head to Saugus while Canyon returns home to host Hart. 

Yong is hoping to see his team continue to improve and be ready to play their best tennis with league preliminaries looming. The teams will enter the Foothill League preliminaries tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at Paseo Club. 

“I want to see our team continuing to play smart and consistent tennis before heading to prelims,” said Yong. “We want to play to our strengths and focus on making fewer unforced errors.” 

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