SOMERS, N.Y. - On Tuesday, Sept. 22, Somers welcomed Croton-Harmon to the high school. Despite a 4-3 team loss, there was still plenty to cheer about, and Eve Clark was worthy of the most applause.
Facing a hard-hitting Tiger, the Tusker prevailed by not fighting power with power.
“When people hit really hard, I feel like I shouldn’t hit back hard. You should almost try to tap it because the ball already has the power that you need. You just let it hit your racket and go,” she said after her 6-3, 3-6, 10-4 victory.
Restraint wasn’t the only aspect of the victory, either.
“I was able to put the ball in places that maybe she couldn’t get to,” said Clark.
Her coach didn’t miss the flight of the ball, nonetheless.
“Her ground strokes were really good,” said Frank Catania.
Isabella Miele didn’t have a bad day on the baseline, either.
“I’m more confident with my forehand and backhand,” she said after winning 6-3, 6-2.
So efficiency became her strategy.
“I noticed that when I hit it deep, it was harder for her to hit back,” said the Tusker.
Miele still had to battle in the face of a pretty good serve from her opponent.
“I focused on the ball and made sure I hit it over,” she said.
But two out of three would have to do on the singles side.
“That girl was really good,” said Julia Greco.
A 6-0, 6-3 loss resulted, with Greco identifying the main problem.
“She was really able to hit the spots on the court,” said Greco.
Of course, the second set was better, and a little reflection helped leave an opening.
“After the first set, I saw weaknesses,” said Greco. “Her backhand, I tried to hit it there, and it was easier for me to attack after that.”
Either way, she realized that hitting deep was the best course, and not just because she was trying to win. Her approaches to the net were another matter.
“I was a little scared because I knew she was going to hit it hard,” said Greco.
The Tusker got to 2-3 in the second set nonetheless and held out hope.
“If I can break her, I might be able to get it,” said Greco.
Not to be, but she still intends to keep playing hard.
“I’m hoping to win some more games and to work on my serve,” she said.
Onto the doubles, Giada Maffei and Darcy Solomon knotted the day at 3-3. In a 7-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory, open dialogue was the difference, according to Maffei.
“We communicate well,” she assured.
It didn’t hurt that the duo spotted their opponents’ weakness, either.
“I knew I could beat their serves and put the ball to their backhands,” said Maffei.
The returns had Solomon cleaning up.
“When they hit an easy shot from the baseline, I hit a hard shot back at them,” said the Tusker.
That left the entire match to Maggie Sun and Hannah Jeon.
“They were very good at placement and just got everywhere,” said Sun after the teammates fell 6-1, 6-2.
Even so, Sun felt pretty good about her serve.
“They were consistent and powerful,” said the junior.
Not a one-player outfit, the teaming fills in the gaps.
“I’m a lot better at the baseline, and Hannah is better at volleys. So when that formation is up, we do pretty well,” said Sun.
Jeon agreed for her part.
“I have good placement. I try to hit it wherever they aren’t — in the middle between them or in the alleys,” said the junior.
Doubles gives her the chance to put aside brute force, though.
“So much less tiring, it’s more about strategy,” she clarified.
A team win was not to be, so Clark set the Tusker sights on synergy.
“I hope we can continue to be a happy family,” she concluded.
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