Hart girls’ tennis took home another league win on Oct. 10, with an 11-7 win over the visiting Golden Valley Grizzlies.
The Hawks thrashed through doubles play with just enough points coming in from singles to take the win.
Hart’s No. 1 doubles team Emma Barker and Kayla Roskilly won all of their sets with 6-0, 6-1 and 6-4 wins.
“I am very proud of how our team played today,” Hart coach Allan Hardbarger said via email. “Golden Valley has many strong players, but our doubles were able to rise to the challenge and win eight big sets. We only have three returning players from last year’s team, but we have some great young players that are quickly learning how to compete at this level.”
Roskilly had been out with an injury for four weeks and Hardbarger believes her return sparked the energy of all three doubles duos.
The Hawks No. 3 doubles duo Claire Richardi and Maeva Costa also brought in three points, with 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 wins. Richardi has shown versatility, and bounced back in between doubles and singles.
“Claire is a senior with three years of varsity experience, and she has bounced around from singles to doubles whenever we need a change,” Hardbarger said. “Claire has a big serve and a big forehand, which are big weapons at any position in the lineup. She is excited to play with Maeva, who brings power and aggression to the team.”
Freshman sensation Kaelyn Azarraga continued her breakout season with 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 wins over Hart singles players.
Azarraga didn’t play like a freshman, with big serves, returns and the poise of a veteran.
Golden Valley coach Josh Stimac is excited for three more seasons with his star freshman.
“Kaelyn Azarraga is a great kid,” Stimac wrote in an email. “I had her two older sisters, Kirsten and Ashleigh, on the tennis team and they were both good athletes as well. What sets Kaelyn apart is that she started playing earlier. Her game is very complete; she has good touch and good power from the baseline, a good consistent serve, and she plays the net well. She still has room to improve, and I am confident that if she stays injury free and continues to work on her game that she will be ready for Division I NCAA competition when she is a senior.”
Grizzlies No. 2 singles player Janice Jin also brought in two wins with a pair of 6-0 wins. Jin only dropped her first set of the day in her battle with Hart senior Sofia Ganshirt in a rematch of the Foothill League 2023 bronze medal match.
The two battled in long rallies before Ganshirt prevailed 6-4 in the long opening set.
“Sofia’s 6-4 victory over Janice Jin was a big win early in the match,” Hardbarger said. “They have had a great rivalry over the years.”
Ganshirt also brought in two wins as she bested Golden Valley No. 2 singles Aubrey Luna.
Azarraga, Jin and Luna all brought in wins, while the latter two still played tight sets in their losses. Stimac has one his best singles lineups that Golden Valley has seen in a few years despite last year’s graduation of star Charly Saltz.
“They are a great 1-2-3 punch in singles,” Stimac said. “Each girl fights hard and brings good consistency to the singles court. We have won a majority of the singles sets, at least five of nine sets, in every match we have played this season. Additionally, Janice has been a fantastic team captain for the past three seasons.”
Hart duo Frenchie Siebaldi and Jamie Nguyen came inches away from a sweep of the day but were dropped 7-6 (9-7) by Golden Valley’s Jillianne Borromeo and Maddison Christino.
Borromeo is one of a few sophomores on the team who have stepped up quickly into starting roles for Golden Valley.
Hart has since won another thriller over Saugus, 9-9, via tiebreaker.
The Hawks will take on West Ranch on Tuesday while Golden Valley heads to Valencia with just two more matches to go before the Foothill League preliminaries.
“Going into the second half of the season, we expect every team to give us their best match,” Hardbarger said. “I think that our team has shown lots of grit this year, and I hope that we can keep that focus for the rest of the season and into the playoffs.”
