Metea Valley edges rival Waubonsie Valley

Metea Valley coach Karley Olson knew her team would make things interesting against Waubonsie Valley Tuesday afternoon.

The Mustangs did just that, picking up a three-set victory at No. 3 doubles to close out the match and win, 4-3, over the District 204 rival Warriors Tuesday afternoon.

Maddie Collins and Delaney Earley defeated Priyanka Khanna and Rebecca Sun, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (2), 6-3, in the No. 3 doubles match, giving the Mustangs the team victory.

“They came from behind, even though we won the first set, it came down to fighting and handling the pressure,” Olson said of her No. 3 duo. “They handled the pressure a lot better than the rest of us on the sidelines.”

Waubonsie Valley coach Phil Galow feels that his team needs to do a better job of carrying over what’s taught in practice.

“Our issue right now is progressing from our practices to the matches and we’re just not doing that right now,” he said. “I’m just not seeing aggressiveness in doubles play, and when we start to get aggressive, we freeze to a point where we don’t do what we do in practice.”

No. 1 singles player Kelsey Chin earned Metea Valley’s first team point of the evening, a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Katie Drone. Afterward, Chin was complimentary of her opponent.

“She was on fire,” Chin said of Drone. “She played her best game and fought hard. I just happened to get lucky.”

Metea Valley’s Ana Woods defeated Waubonsie Valley’s Ignacia Caviedes, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, while Waubonsie Valley’s Nithya Sridhar won her team’s first match at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 6-2, over Nikki Beesetti.

The Mustangs’ No. 1 doubles duo of Nandita Baloo and Emily Dixon defeated Waubonsie Valley’s Anna Reimers and Nadia Gonzalez, 6-2, 6-4.

“For one doubles, that was probably their biggest win of the year,” Olson said. “That was the best I’ve seen them play yet.”

Amanda Glavin and Gennifer Taylor won the Warriors’ first doubles match of the day, defeating the Mustangs’ Makinnah Collins and Madison Madrid, 6-4, 6-1 at the No. 2 spot.

“At No. 2 doubles I thought once we figured out who we were hitting to strategy-wise, then I thought we calmed down,” Galow said. “They’re both good athletes and it showed in the second set.”

Waubonsie Valley’s Caitlyn Seed and Saaya Nath won the No. 4 doubles match, 6-4, 6-4, over Hannah Moore and Melissa Frantzen.