COMO PARK 7, NORTH ST. PAUL 0

Two teams on hot streaks collided in the only match of the day, but it was host Como Park that kept the fires burning cooling off the visiting Polars of North St. Paul in a sweep. The Cougars did not lose a set at singles. It was a different story at doubles where the CP odds needed three sets for their victory. At first doubles Asta Ket & Gaolee Yang won both first and third sets by a slim 21-19 score over #5 ranked Jolena & Claire. Lana Yang & Rose Yang at third doubles pieced together their win with identical 21-16 scores in the second and third set. Margins at doubles were razor thin at 1.625. Singles had a more comfortable vibe for CP with an 8.125 point differential.

CP this week has won against Harding (Monday), Johnson (Wednesday) and NSP. They ended a three-game winning streak for the Knights, a four-game streak for the Govs, and a two-game streak for the Polars. Como Park is on their own five match winning streak after falling in the opener to Highland Park. Next up will be spring break and Washington awaits on April 8. NSP gets right back into the thick of things with a home match against Math & Science.

Today I recorded the first doubles and will break that tape down over the weekend and add it to the story later.

SINGLES

1 Niko Solheid, CP def Isabelle Yang 21-13, 21-6

2 Tsuki Solheid, CP def Mallory 21-12, 21-19

3 Oo Meh, CP def Summer 21-18, 21-9

4 Heh Blut Paw, CP def Autym 21-12, 21-14

DOUBLES

1 Asta Ket / Gaolee Yang, CP def Jolena / Claire 21-19, 15-21, 21-19

2 Plar See Sher / Ann Se, CP def Pajzib / Lina 21-15, 21-15

3 Lana Yang / Rose Yang, CP def Kat / Armella  14-21, 21-16, 21-16

BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Como Park 4-0 1.000
Games: Como Park 8-0 1.000
points: Como Park 168-103 .620
Set 1 points: Como Park 84-55 .604
Set 2 points: Como Park 84-48 .636
decided by 10+: Como Park 2-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Como Park 2-0 1.000
margin: Como Park 8.125
DOUBLES
Matches: Como Park 3-0 1.000
Games: Como Park 6-2 .750
points: Como Park 155-142 .522
Set 1 points: Como Park 56-55 .505
Set 2 points: Como Park 57-52 .523
Set 3 points: Como Park 42-35 .545
decided by 10+: none
decided by 3-: Como Park 2-0 1.000
margin: Como Park 1.625

FIRST SINGLES

Niko SOLHEID 2, Isabelle YANG 0
(21-13, 21-6—or 19-6 according to my count)

#9 ranked (last Sunday) Niko Solheid built up steam as the match wore on and handcuffed #10 ranked Isabelle Yang with a two set sweep. Solheid did not allow Yang to get any traction on her service in the second set holding the Polar scoreless. Solheid dominated the side out, winner, and error metrics. Her winner to error ratio was a sparkling 3.5. Winners landed 21-13 for Solheid with smashes her go-to today with eight.

The match opened with Solheid with the bird and she made use of one of those smashes for the first point. She also racked up the first run of the game on service three to push out to a 7-2 lead. After her second run, this time six, on service five the score stood at 14-5. Yang clawed her way back into the contest with her only run of the day on service six. That added four to her totals for a 15-10 deficit. Solheid added a final three point run to leave little room for comebacks at 19-12.

In set two Solheid was stone cold effective with no points allowed to Yang on her six serves. But Yang did hold a 1-0 lead on a six stroke clear to open the set. After that it was all Solheid. She ran off seven straight for a commanding lead. Five of those points came on Yang errors. As Yang was held scoreless on serve, Solheid squeezed at least one point off her remaining chances. She finished with four straight, but the match ended prematurely at 19-6. I don’t know where they lost track of the score, or added to it, because I was up in the bleachers in the friendly confines of Como Park.

Category	SOLHEID	YANG
Side out	11/14-.786	5/16-.313
Longest side out string	6	2
3+ Runs	5	1
Longest point string	7	4
SERVING
First serve	1, 2
First point	1	2
Service points	26	5
Serving %	39/40-.975	14/19-.737
Point generated off serve	.650	.263
POINTS	40	19
Points after 11	18	11
Points after own errors	4	5
Winners after own errors	2	4
STROKES	158	81
Strokes per point	3.950	4.263
5+ rallies (%)	15	8
2- rallies (%)	17	9
WINNERS	21	13
Aces	2	0
Blocks	2	0
Clears	5	4
Drives	0	4
Drops	2	1
Soft drives	2	1
Smashes	8	3
Even Stroke Winners	7	10
2nd Stroke Winners	4	6
Odd Stroke Winners	14	3
ERRORS	6	19
Deep	0	1
Net	0	6
Wide	5	7
Serve	1	5
Even stroke errors	2	13
2nd stroke errors	1	6
Odd stroke errors	4	6
WINNER LOCATION
Left	12	7
Right	9	6
Largest Lead	9, 13	0, 1
W:E Ratio	3.500	0.684
Margin	10.50
Set Point %	2/2-1.000
Time	13:36

FIRST DOUBLES

Asta KET / Gaolee YANG, 2 Jolena / Claire 0

(21-19, 15-21, 21-19)

This was my first charting of the year for doubles. And there were scoring issues. Two of the sets were off. I had the first set even at 19 when both teams left the court. I also had the second set score 22-14. The third set was correct. North St. Paul outscored Como according to that score 60-54 (19-19, 14-22, 21-19).

Como got the jump big and early in the first set with Gaolee Yang gaining the first run right off the bat with three straight points. Asta Ket on her second service racked up another run of four for an impressive 11-3 lead. CP would need that margin it turned out. The CP side out game was slamming the door on NSP. Claire, on her third attempt finally broke the ice for the Polars snapping five straight scoreless services. NSP would score on every service after that in set one. At 18-12 (according to the camera and my count), Jolena scored on a drop with Claire next up in service. She scored six straight times inching NSP out front 19-18. A side out on a Yang drive tied it up, but both teams left the court. End of set from their count.

Set two started with Como up 5-3 when Jolena came up with two straight aces (both on fans) and the Polars were up 6-5 and would not trail again in that set. NSP, for all intents and purposes, locked up the set win with two runs of three and four to push the score to 19-12. I had 21-13 but they kept playing for two more points.

Set three was the rubber match. The set broke for the Cougars during Yang’s second service when she came up with seven straight points including four straight points on two stroke errors indicating her service was hard to handle, or at least keep in play. That made it 14-7. Claire had a five point run that almost duplicated Yang’s feat. In that sequence there were four two stroke errors. And that tied the score at 17. A Ket drive brought the bird back to CP. A net error returned the favor. Jolena came up with a block which put NSP up 19-18. A missed serve took the momentum away. Yang closed out the match with the next two serves. Ket finished with a smash for the final point.

 

Category	KET	YANG	JOLENA	CLAIRE
Side out when receiving	11/30	12/26	10/23	13/28
3+ Runs	1	3	4	4
Longest point string	4	7	2	6
SERVING
First serve		1, 2		3
Scoring on service	9	19	13	19
Serving %	20/23	31/32	24/27	31/32
Pt generated off serve
STROKES	109	81	96	86
WINNERS	11	10	10	7
Aces	0	0	2	0
Blocks	0	1	1	0
Clears	3	0	1	0
Drives	2	3	1	0
Drops	2	0	1	1
Soft drives	3	4	0	2
Smashes	1	2	4	4
ERRORS	40	17	39	19
Deep	3	3	2	4
Fan	7	4	4	2
Net	13	5	9	3
Wide	8	2	7	7
Serve	3	1	3	1
Last no go	6	2	12	2
TEAM
POINTS	54		60
Points after 11	23		39
First points	1, 2		3
Longest side out string	5		4
Strokes per point
5+ rallies
2- rallies
Largest Lead	8, 2, 7		0, 8, 2
Margin
Set Point %	2/9-.222		1/2-.500
Time	31:47