Santa Barbara High girls tennis began its season with a 12-6 road loss at the hands of Valencia High on Friday in Valencia.
“Despite uncomfortably warm conditions, early-season nerves and some physical challenges, both teams put up some impressive and close performances for not having much match play under their belts,” Dons head coach Shane Carmody said.
Freshman Karen Monroy shined in her high school debut for the Dons, going an undefeated 3-0 in singles action to account for half of the team’s points.
Meanwhile, the Santa Barbara High junior pairing of Iris Heckes/Stella Malina pulled in a pair of victories and the senior duo of Violet Marr and Kana Wolf rounded out the scoring with a 6-3 win.
“Fighting a lot of factors working against them versus a CIF champion team from last year, the Dons showed up and worked hard with good attitudes and impressive conduct and sportsmanship,” Carmody said.
Santa Barbara High will host Arroyo Grande on Tuesday for its home opener.
