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Mooney bounces Warren JFK
By Brandon Judeh
Youngstown
The Cardinal Mooney girls tennis team has had plenty of success over the past two seasons. Much can be credited to the Cardinals having a solid team one through seven.
This was evident in Mooney’s 5-0 victory over unbeaten Warren JFK on Thursday.
“There are a lot of teams in the area that have one or two superstars,” Cardinals head coach Jimmy Leslie said. “Our team has a lot of depth from the top to the bottom, our eight and nine girls would be number two or three on most other teams.”
The Cardinals (13-1) were led by junior Kacey Haggerty, who defeated JFK senior Lauren Lee in straight sets (6-1, 6-0).
For Haggerty, it felt good to get the win after losing to Lee last season.
“I needed to do good against her and I did, I executed all of my shots and was able to pull it out,” Haggerty said.
She got past the power-hitting Lee by playing smart.
Haggerty, who has a 4.1 grade-point average, used a mix of offspeed spins to counter Lee’s power. This strategy proved to be the difference in the match.
“Despite the tough match today, we started out the season really good and we know what we need to do and I know we will bounce back,” Lee said.
Lee added that she and her fellow seniors (Autumn Howard, Megan Guliano and Chandler Shoaf) have been using their leadership to help the underclassman get ready for the tournaments.
The other singles matches also went to Mooney as Gianna Reider defeated Howard and Hallie Yerian beat Rachel Vince in straight sets.
On the other side of the court, the doubles matches proved to be very competitive as the Eagles’ Maria Stroup and Guliano gave Jamie DiDomenico and Dominique Cicchi all they could handle.
But in the end, the Mooney pair pulled away, winning 6-3, 6-1.
“This was Megan and Maria’s first match playing together, I think that as the season goes on they will come around and do a great job,” Lee said.
Lee also mentioned that Guliano’s experience of being a district qualifier will help Stroup, who is a freshman, gain the confidence she needs.
The final doubles match also went to the Cardinals as Gianna Parella and Lizzie Mathews defeated Shoaf and Rachel Pinti 6-2 and 6-1 to shut the Eagles (6-1) out.
It was a bounce-back win for Mooney which lost a tough match to Canfield on Tuesday. Leslie called the loss disappointing loss, but one learned from and can use as motivation.
Haggerty improved to 12-2 on the season, something that impresses Leslie.
“She is literally playing the best of the best every time out, to have 12 wins against some of the best competition is impressive,” Leslie said.
This may not be the last time Mooney hears from JFK, with the tournament nearing, the chances of a rematch are likely.
“From here, you can only move forward and practice harder, hopefully I will see Haggerty again in the tournament,” Lee said.