John Jay Looks Good in Loss to Byram Hills

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On Monday September 30, John Jay Tennis faced Byram Hills, and up a league this year, the competition has been tough. The Bobcats definitely represented the difficulty and had the Wolves losing every match. But the girls still showed they could play and gave Byram Hills a run for their money across the board.

On court one, Penelope Hill was the first Wolf to have a Bobcat clutching her purse. A 6-4, 6-4 two hour marathon, the visitor outlasted the Wolf on long, lob-orientated baseline points. “That’s a tough opponent, because Penny normally drives a lot of pace, and that girl took all the pace away,” said Coach Julie McCaffrey.

Given the fierce back and forth, Hill was not really at a disadvantage. “Penny hits a really beautiful ground stroke,” said McCaffrey.

Her backhand ain’t bad either, according to the coach, and on court two, Lauren Metro feels the same way about her two hander. “My backhand has more power and is easier to control,” said the sophomore.

The 6-2, 6-2 loss looked a lot like her teammate’s. Long points and long hitting, it was a chess match for sure. “I tried to move her around the court. I hit a bunch of different shots.” said Metro.

On the other hand, she admitted that her opponent was more successful at dictating the itinerary. “Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t,” said the number two singles player.

Onto doubles one, Sophie Inana and Farah Ganesan lost in straight sets. “We were a lot more consistent in the first set, but in the second set, it got a little more challenging,” said Ganesan.

A 6-4, 6-0 defeat, the duo worked around some strong volley play in the opening set. “One of the girls had a good net game. So whoever we hit around that area, we pouched a lot of short shots,” said the senior.

And the strategy worked in accordance with the partners’ strengths. “I was pretty good at the baseline, and I helped set up Sophie for a lot of good points,” said Ganesan.

Inana agreed. “I’m pretty good at the net, and she’s good at setting up,” said the Wolf.

Love was in the air on court two also. Friendship first and Blinera Tetaj and Miriam Wilson falling 6-4, 6-0.

Of course, the teammates were more on their game in set one. “We would get the ball and hit it down the middle,” said Tetaj.

The drop off was also easy to explain, according to Tetaj. “I get really in my head sometimes, so I either miss the ball or hit it out,” she lamented.

Finally, Lucy Millhon and Kierstin McCarty were on the grind until the end. “Every point was pretty close. We had really long rallies,” said Millhon after the 7-5, 6-4 defeat.

That said, the way the Wolves complemented each other verified the point. “I’m better at getting to the balls she can’t get, but she’s really good at getting to the short balls,” the senior clarified.

An assessment that was in sync. “I tend to let her set up, which is really important so we can place the ball where it needs to be placed,” said McCarty.

So in for the kill, the razor thin margin had McCarty pleased with the effort. “It was one of our best games working together,” said the junior.

Up for improvement, Millhon knows the elixir. “If we lose a game, we get in our heads about it. So to get better, we need to focus on what we can do better rather than focusing on what just happened,” she admitted.

Overall, the outcome speaks well for all the team and the rest of the season should have them up a notch with the competition.