Macali wins Section 8 title, heads back to State
By DAVID MERRILL Sports reporter
Maryville’s Lauren Macali returns a backhand from Ashleigh Whitmire of Excelsior Springs during the Section 8 Singles Tennis Championship on Monday. Macali secured a 6-1, 6-0 victory to move on to the State Tournament.
Maryville senior Lauren Macali hadn’t seen Excelsior Springs’ Ashleigh Whitmire until the two met on Monday for the Section 8 title.
Macali didn’t have any trouble figuring her out as she cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
“At the beginning, I noticed she was slicing her shots a lot and I knew running up on shots is one of the weaker parts of my game,” Macali said. “Thankfully, I was able to think about what I was doing and I really wanted to do well today.”
Regardless of what happens at the team Sectionals on Saturday, Macali will be returning to the State Tournament for the second year in a row.
She went last year as part of a doubles team, but this will be the first year she is going to state as a singles player.
Macali knows that the road ahead isn’t going to be easy.
“You have to expect anything,” she said. “Those girls down there are very good. They play all the time. I’m going in optimistic, but I’m not going to get my hopes up if something doesn’t go the way I want it to.”
Between now and the State Tournament on Oct. 14, Macali said there are a number of things she wants to work on.
“I want to work on hitting consistent shots and my footwork. Those are the two things I noticed from today that I could work on.”
Mendez loses in tiebreaker
Sophomore Marena Mendez came close to qualifying for the State Tournament as well, but fell to Excelsior Springs’ Emily Buck 6-2, 6-7 (5-7) in a match that went to a tiebreaker.
After dropping the first set 6-2, Mendez built a 5-3 lead on Buck to come within one game of forcing a third set, but it wasn’t meant to be. Buck stormed back to tie the set at 6-6 and send it to a tiebreaker where she won it 7-5.
It was just her second tiebreaker of the season and her first in singles play, but she has been in plenty of tiebreakers before.
She said the mindset switches when you go into a tiebreaker.
“You have to just take care of yourself and see what you can do and work it out,” she said.
When asked what could have gone better in order to hang on to the second set, Mendez brought up her mental game. It was the same issue she had in her individual District singles loss to Macali the week before.
“I really need to work on my mental game,” she said. “I just need to get some more matches under my belt and learn how to be better at that part of the game.”
White, Orshiso fall to St. Pius duo
Bailey White and Bethel Orshiso lost in straight sets to Amy Kellenberger and Molly Heinzler from St. Pius X 3-6, 2-6. The duo will have one more chance to advance to State as part of the team effort when the Spoofhounds take on St. Pius X in Kansas City at 9 a.m. on Oct. 8.
McGinness proud of team’s effort
Overall, Maryville head coach Nicole McGinness said she liked what she saw out of everyone despite some of the losses.
“I thought everyone played really well,” she said. “Bailey and Bethel gave it all they had in the doubles. They lost 3-6, 2-6, but I thought they played really well. Marena played well also. I thought she was going to be able to force that third set, but she played hard. That girl is tough competition.
Lauren is playing really well right now and it’s not just her strokes. Her mental game is on point and that’s something she struggled with last year, so I’m really proud of her.”
By DAVID MERRILL Sports reporter
Maryville’s Marena Mendez serves the ball against Emily Buck of Excelsior Springs during the Section 8 Singles Championship on Monday. Mendez lost in straight sets (2-6, 6-7 (5-7).
