Dons freshman Karina Thornton focuses on a backhand return during the Dons' CIF match on Tuesday.
Freshman Lisa Santry is playing in her first CIF for the Dons.
Santa Barbara High’s girls tennis team moved past another CIF roadblock on Tuesday, defeating visiting El Dorado 13-5 to advance into Thursday’s Division II CIF semifinals.
The second-seeded Dons got there thanks to dominant performances by singles players Hayley Galitzer and Grace Flintermann, as well as from the doubles teams of Ariana Hudson/Talia Hudson and Megan Grant/Karina Thornton.
“We really want to win (CIF) and we feel like we can,” Talia Hudson said. “Every game we go into we want to play our hardest and our best.”
The Hudsons, the Channel League doubles champions, have been dominant throughout the playoffs, in fact, posting an 8-0 record in three matches.
El Dorado may not have had a doubles team made up of twins, but the Golden Hawks do feature three sisters in its lineup, all of whom will be back next year. The Etchegarays – Natalie, Gabi and Bridget – had a hand in three of the Golden Hawks’ five wins.
“I think we competed today but I thought we could have done better,” said El Dorado head coach John Cyrus, who coached his team to its fourth straight Century League title this season.
The Dons, meanwhile, stay alive and will likely host San Marino on Thursday. If Murrieta Valley upsets San Marino, Santa Barbara will travel to the Murrieta Valley for its semifinal match.
Of the three sets won by Thornton and Grant on Tuesday, the pair’s second-round come-from-behind triumph was a pivotal decision in the match. The 6-4 win in favor of the Dons gave Santa Barbara a comfortable 8-4 lead after two rounds instead of a more precarious 7-5.
Thornton and Grant, who have been playing doubles together for most of the season, are thriving in the Dons’ biggest matches of the year. The duo upped its record to 7-0 in the postseason.
As a freshman, Thornton is excelling in her first CIF playoff.
“I think we compliment each other’s game and the more we’ve played together, the more we’ve kinda of gotten comfortable,” Thornton said.
Thornton and Grant actually came from behind in all three of their sets to give the Dons the boost they needed.
A win on Thursday would put Santa Barbara into Monday’s CIF Final at the Claremont Club.
SANTA BARBARA 13, EL DORADO 5
SB Singles – Hayley Hranicky-Galitzer 3-0, Grace Flintermann 3-0, Lisa Santry 0-3. N. Etchegaray 1-2, C. Hernandez 1-2, G. Etchegaray 1-2.
SB Doubles – A. Hudson/T. Hudson 3-0, T Mjelde/S. Thornton 1-2, K. Thornton/M. Grant 3-0. ED Doubles – Cyrus/Etchegaray 1-2, David/Tunby 1-2, Gopiao/N. C 0-3
