Mena Takes It To The Limit As Tigers Drop SOL Match

Norristown -- The senior core of the Lady Tigers tennis team has had some interesting duties this summer.

Of course they have to set the example during the grueling workouts in the blazing August sun, and yes they are expected to show the underclass the ropes and choose a couple of freshman pay their dues by lugging water and equipment onto the court. After all, it’s part of the experience.

But what if you had no freshman or even sophomores for that matter? That was the dilemma co-captains senior Casey Ferraro and senior Rebecca Penaranda faced as camp opened up.

The Tigers duo solved their own problem by going on a recruiting binge, which has reaped unbelievable benefits so far, as not only have they more than fielded a squad, the girls they found have displayed some "mad tennis skills."

"We always seem to be short when we start," said head coach Rebecca Compton, in her fourth year at the helm. "We had 10 girls when we opened, but we are still very short in youth as we still have all juniors and seniors. It’s an unusual problem top have."

"I am so excited for my senior year," Ferraro said. "We have so much potential. We were asking anyone we knew to come out and play. Our seniors are great girls and we are all very tight as a group. Our No. 1 singles player Angelica (Mena), who is a junior, is amazing. And our first doubles have played together for three years now, and are very good."

On Monday, Ferraro and her senior latent crew took the court at Norristown High School and while the hosts held a 3-2 lead in the match, it was the No. 1 singles match that provided a display of grit and determination that would have been worth the price of admission, if there were one.

Eagles senior Angela Polinsky locked horns in an epic battle with the Tigers young gun Angelica Mena, renewing a rivalry that started last season. After getting blasted Polinsky in the first set by a tally of 6-1, it was Polinsky who got it going by capitalizing on numerous unforced errors by Mena to even the match with a 6-3 second set win.

In the set that would end up deciding the team match as well, Polinsky did a great job in returning the lighting-fast serve by Mena, when she got it in that is.

Ironically, enough it was double fault on said serve with the match on the line that would give Polinsky a 7-5 victory as the Eagles top seed broke Mena’s serve to claim a match that took almost three hours to complete.

"Wow! What a match. She is a very good player," Polinsky said. "At first, her serve caught me of guard and actually even scared me a bit. I had to step back and let her make mistakes on it. I adjusted and was able to do a pretty good job of putting the ball in play even though she did get some aces. After the first set, I had to just focus on each point. I couldn’t get caught up thinking I was in a hole. I just played each point like it was a match point and took it one game at a time."

In doubles action, Norristown’s duo of Cydney Simmons and Corey Gordon defeated Truman’s number one team of seniors Megan Cannon and Devon Barbieri in straight sets 6-4, 6-0.

In other doubles match ups, Norristown’s Mariah Mulhaire and Precious Evan handed the Tigers duo of Danielle Johnson and Justine Broadbelt a 6-1, 5-3 defeat as the Truman number two pairing of seniors Kelsey Webber and Sam Becker defeated Hannah Iuzzi and Jess Ayala 6-3, 6-0

The No. 2 singles match up between senior Becky Penaranda and Norristown’s Leah Ruthwell did not end well for the home team, as Truman’s Penaranda cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 straight set win, the Eagles recovered a bit as senior Nicole Dinich defeated Casey Ferraro 6-3, 6-2 to set up the dramatics for the aces of the respective squad to battle it out for the team win.

"We love being around each other as a team," Penaranda said. "We have no drama what so ever that has plagued us a bit in other years. We are all the best of friends and it shows on the court. We all support each other and no matter what the score is we encourage each other."

"We play in a division that is way ahead of us from a tennis standpoint," Compton said. "Our situation with no underclass does give us an edge on maturity. These girls know what needs to be done and they are all willing to learn the nuances of the game."

Joining in the Suburban One fray for the Tigers are fellow seniors Erica Altson, Kayla Williams and Aasna Sangvhi.