Women’s tennis ready for nationals

Story and photos by Steve Choice

The Pima Community College women’s tennis team will get a little something extra in its May Day basket this year. That would be an invite to NJCAA Championships, which kick off May 1 at the Randolph Tennis Center in Tucson.

As the host school, the Aztecs receive an automatic bid to the six-day national championship tournament.

The steadily improving squad will look to end its year on a memorable note on the biggest stage any junior college athlete can hope to reach.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” head coach Gretchen Schantz said of nationals. “You want to peak late, and my team is doing that.”

Pima started off the year with some frustrating losses, but has come on strong in the latter half of the season. The squad stormed back from a 1-5 beginning to finish a very respectable 4-6.

Included in those three late-season victories were two thrashings of conference opponents on the road. On April 8, Pima dismantled Scottsdale Community College, 9-0. The Aztecs also paid a visit to Paradise Valley on April 15, resulting in an 8-1 demolition of the Pumas.

The one frustrating late-year outing for PCC took place on April 13, as Eastern Arizona College came to town. The Aztecs had difficulty finding their rhythm against the Gila Monsters, dropping a 7-2 decision.

The tilt against EAU did showcase one of the most exciting matches of the year, however, as the No. 3 doubles team of freshmen Lucy Gaynor and Daisy Quezada turned in a gutty comeback performance that had the crowd at the Tucson Racquet Club hanging on every shot by the time it finished.

The Pima pair drew EAU’s previously once-beaten team of Brinlee Goodman and Natalie Young. The Pima players came back from repeated deficits to claim a thrilling 9-8 (8-6) victory.

The Aztec duo dug themselves out of an early 6-3 hole to forge ahead 7-6. Doubles teams play to eight in the “pro set” format used at the college level.

Lucy Gaynor and Daisy Quezada

The seesaw affair eventually went to a tiebreaker, and there Gaynor and Quezada once again had to claw back from behind.

The EAU pair jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the deciding game, setting the stage for Gaynor’s and Quezada’s heroics.

Following some stellar net play by Gaynor, Quezada served for the victory, up 7-6 in the tiebreak.

“It was exciting, and kind of scary,” Quezada said of serving for the match. “We both tensed up a little bit in the tiebreaker, but I know we’re both excellent players, so we just tried to relax and play like we know we can. It was really cool to beat them, because we had lost to them the first time we played.”

Did any panic creep in when the pair fell behind midway through the contest?

“Oh no, you don’t get too up or too down at any point in the match,” said Quezada, a product of Desert View High School. “It’s not right to get too down. You just keep on pushing.”

Schantz’s team will look to push far into the bracket when the best in the country come to town on May Day.

The smart money for Aztec fans would be to stay until the end of each match, because these women aren’t going to stop swinging until the final point is decided.