©Colette Lewis 2008--
Rancho Mirage, CA--
My first day at the Easter Bowl started at 8 a.m. with a rematch of a girls 16s second round meeting between in Carson between Caitlyn Williams and Sarah Lee. It ended shortly after 7 p.m., with another deja vu match--the Carson 18s semifinal between Danielle Lao and Jacqueline Cako.
In between, unseeded Lauren Embree, any seed's worst first round nightmare, took out 18s No. 2 seed Mallory Burdette 7-6(5), 6-3 and Cierra Gaytan-Leach dumped No. 3 seed Alexa Guarachi 7-6(4), 6-4 on a warm, sunny and wind-free Coachella Valley day.
In Carson, Williams was the No. 2 seed with Lee unseeded; in Rancho Mirage, Lee was the seed (12), with Williams unseeded, but Lee won both. The Carson match had an improbable 6-0, 6-7(12), 6-0 scoreline, and yet from watching this morning's match, which Lee won by a more conventional 6-2, 7-5, I could see it being that up-and-down. Both girls cracked quite a few aces--in one game, Williams had three--but rallies of any sort were rare, and an error was much more likely to end a point than a winner. The ball seldom crossed the net more than two or three times, and Williams' forehand was notably unreliable. Lee could string together enough shots to win the big points, but neither could find a rhythm throughout.
The unseeded Cako did not have a day off or an off day, even after playing in the Carson final Sunday. When she dropped the first set to Lao 6-1 late this afternoon, it looked as if Cako was a bit mentally and physically spent. But she recovered to take the next two sets 6-3, 6-3, using her superior volleying skills to put the talented Lao out of a tournament for the second time in three days. Cako's serve was also a factor, as she was more of a threat to hold than Lao. At 4-3 in the third, Lao double-faulted the game away to give Cako the chance to finish it, an opportunity she took.
Embree and Burdette also had difficulty holding serve in their match. I watched the latter stages of the first set, where there were four consecutive breaks before each held to reach the tiebreaker. Burdette hit with her usual force, but errors were common, and Embree's defensive skills usually extended the point long enough for Burdette to make a mistake.
Top seed and International Spring Champion Melanie Oudin showed no signs of fatigue, defeating Tayler Davis 6-0, 6-0 on stadium court. Oudin's doubles partner, 13-year-old Grace Min, had a much tougher go of it on the adjacent court against Nicole Gibbs. Gibbs, who trailed 3-0 in the third set, won five straight games before Min recovered. It was too late, and the 2007 16s Easter Bowl champion served it out for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 win.
The boys 18s begin on Tuesday, while the both boys and girls 14s are in the third round. For 14s and 16s results and draws, click here. For the 18s results and draws, click here.
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