Laguna Blanca girls tennis opened up its league season with a big win over crosstown-rival Providence on Thursday.

“Winning the first league match of the season was the result of all the hard work that these girls have been doing to represent Laguna Blanca the best way possible,” Owls coach Santiago Segovia said.

Caroline Kenny, Laguna Blanca’s top singles player, went 3-1 on the day with wins of 6-1, 6-0, 6-0 and a 7-5 loss. Meanwhile, Danica Damiani went 2-1 as the number two singles player.

Evie Comis came away with a big win for the Owls, winning her first varsity match of the season 7-6 (7-4) against Providence’s number two singles player.

At the top doubles pairing, Grace Trautwein and Lucia Camp went 2-1 for the Owls while Natalie Schweitzer and Siena Wyatt also turned in a 2-1 performance.

For Providence, meanwhile, the No. 1 doubles duo of Aza Elwood and Amber Petraitis Regan accounted for the majority of the team’s points.

Sarah Monroy also added in a win while the sister duo of Annika and Melia Haugen earned a point as well.

“Even though we lost, our team showed character and kept the other team playing points,” Providence coach LeAnne Patterson said.

Bishop Diego 12, La Reina 6

The Cardinals also got off to a hot start in league play, taking down La Reina for their first win of the season.

It was a balanced attack, as Bishop Diego took six points in singles and doubles.

Haley Hubbs led the way in singles, losing just three games across three set wins. Meanwhile, Elisha McCullough grabbed a pair of wins and Avery Carter earned her first high school win.

“Haley played with energy and confidence… She smothered her opponents with her movement and her ‘let’s take care of business’ attitude,” Cardinal coach Pete Kirkwood said. “Elisha’s forehand is big but her biggest improvement is her movement around the court. 

“Avery was the surprise of the day… It was a huge confidence builder for her going forward.”

Bishop Diego also got a dominating performance from the doubles pairing of Anja Faasbind and Marlene Lausen, who swept their three sets 6-0, 6-0, 6-1.

“[Faasbind and Lausen] both were hitting big forehands down the line and rattling their opponents with great groundstroking and movement at the net,” Kirkwood said.

Also in doubles play, the duo of Rafaela Fay and Victoria Heredia picked up a pair of wins while Sophia Reagan and Leanna Ibarra earned a victory as well.

“[Fay and Heredia] really worked well together today. Rafaela was playing with great consistency and Victoria was taking the middle away at the net beautifully,” Kirkwood said. “(For Reagan and Ibarra), the key was their ability to get the serve and return in play. They both volley well and can get to a lot of balls.”

The Cardinals are now 1-4 and will take on Dunn on Tuesday at Santa Barbara Municipal Tennis courts.

Lompoc 5, Santa Ynez 4

The Pirates picked up three of six singles points but ultimately fell to the Braves, 5-4.

Morea Naretto, Kate Mazza and Danielle Hyland each handled their singles opponents in two sets to give Santa Ynez three team points.

In doubles play, the pairing of Cloe Christianson and Grace Sugich earned a 9-7 victory but Lompoc won the other two doubles matchups to secure the win.

Dos Pueblos 17, Rio Mesa 1

The Chargers dominated across the board in a lopsided win over Rio Mesa.

In singles play, Dos Pueblos went undefeated with a record of 9-0 while dropping only one game in doubles action, going 8-1.

“It was a very solid team effort,” Charger coach Rob Schiff said. “We played well across the lineup and managed to get 15 players in to play at least a set. There was excellent energy and team spirit. 

“We are still improving and hope to be at our best by the last part of our schedule, hopefully leading into the playoffs.”

With the win, Dos Pueblos is now 6-3 and 4-2 in league action.