Tennis: Goddard wins against Roswell in wind | Local Sports
The Goddard High School varsity tennis team defeated the visiting Roswell High School Thursday with a final score of 12-6 at the Goddard tennis courts.
Teams started with their doubles before moving on to their singles in this windy crosstown match. Players on both sides had to adjust their shots against the storm, often throwing their serves out or playing them too short.
With the girls, Goddard won five of four games against the Coyotes. Sophomore Avery Williams and eighth-grader Zoey Williams defeated Roswell senior Maddie Hicks and eighth-grader Otsie Lackey with final scores of 6-0 and 6-2. Coyote junior Karyme Lopez and senior Amie Lovato lost to Goddard student Anahi Lujan and freshman Abigail Palma in a three-set bout with final scores of 5-7, 6-1 and 10-8. Roswell senior Arlette Montanez and junior Naisa Ramirez beat Goddard freshman Sydney Miller and coed Dunya Mouhammad 6-0, 6-1.
The girls’ singles were even between the rivals. Montanez beat Mouhammad 8-1, Ramirez beat Miller 8-4 and Lovato beat Palma 8-6 for Roswell. Lujan defeated Lackey 9-7, the younger Zoey Williams defeated Lopez 8-1 and Avery Williams over Hicks 8-4.
“I think I played pretty poorly given the conditions,” Hicks said. “She’s a really good player, so I didn’t think I was going to win. Could have played better or worse.”
Goddard’s boys defeated the Coyotes 7-2. Levente Bata, sophomore at Roswell, and senior Aidan Donahue lost to freshman Nicholas Lara and senior Saul Gonzalez in a drawn-out match with a final score of 6-7, 6-4, and 10-5.
“None of us were good,” Donahue said. “Me and Leve made a lot of mistakes. Our opponents made just as many, but apparently one less because they won.”
Roswell seniors Alex Vargas and Julius Steingraeber lost to Goddard seniors Alex Lara and Max Schroeder with set scores of 6-2 and 6-2. Goddard seniors Grant Janway and Craig Martinez defeated sophomore Ferrel Garcia and junior Diego Lopez 6-2 and 6-2 respectively.
Roswell won two of six games against Goddard. Roswell’s Alex Vargas defeated Nick Lara 8-4 and Junior Bryan Carrasco defeated Goddard’s Saul Gonzalez. Roswell senior Julius Steingraeber lost to Rockets number two in Craig Martinez. Steingraeber said the match was even, but he started dropping games in a row for misses of serve.
“I lost three games in a row so I had to come back from that,” said Steingraeber. “Despite the loss, I like the friendship. We always play against each other.”
Both players said their serves were scattered everywhere because of the wind.
“I couldn’t get my serves right and neither could he,” Martinez said. “To be honest, it was just a stroke of luck. Most of my second serves went in and that gave me the win. He’s really good. His serves go in most of the time but it was very windy today so his service game isn’t there.”
Coyote tennis star Kelly McDonald said they have “no illusions” when it comes to state qualifications as a team.
“We’re just trying to get a singles or a doubles here and there as the state tournament season approaches. We’re just trying to get better, like we always do,” McDonald said during the games. “We’re having fun, playing the game right and trying to play our best tennis at the end of the year.”
For Goddard, Rocket tennis boss Darryl Haley is confident his dedication to children will pay off when the time comes for the state. Despite losing a few key players from last season, the Goddard boys’ team is loaded with seniors, and with the Williams sisters leading for the girls, the Rockets can keep up.
“I cannot express how wonderful these young men and women are,” said Haley. “They come to training every day, have to put up with coach Haley and don’t say a word. We work hard and they don’t say anything no matter how hard we work.”
Sportscaster Blynn Juliano Beltran can be reached at 575-622-7710, ext. 304 or [email protected]
