Lea este artículo en español aquí.
Finishing fifth in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division last season, the Baler girls tennis team is looking to finish among the top teams in its division this year.
At the same time, seasoned tennis coach Ed Cecena said while this year’s squad will be competitive against many of the teams in its division, it still has its challenges against the more established programs.
“We’re really competitive against the bottom part of our league, so we look forward to being really competitive in our shared matches against those teams,” Cecena said.
The Baler girls tennis team competes in the top division against private schools Stevenson and Santa Catalina, as well as public schools Carmel, Scotts Valley, Salinas and Pacific Grove.
Cecena said it is difficult to compete against the top three teams—Stevenson, Santa Catalina and Carmel—because those schools recruit players from “all over” who have extensive tennis experience. In contrast, many players on the Hollister team do not begin playing tennis until they reach high school.
“We do the best we can and we have fun with it,” he said. “We compete to the best of our ability, and I think the girls do a good job.”
Cecena said it’s difficult for players to play tennis during the offseason because the only available courts are at Dunne Park, whose courts have been converted to pickleball courts, and Ridgemark, which is only accessible to club members.
Despite the barrier, Cecena said he and assistant coach Rick Espino offer as many lessons as they can to the girls throughout the offseason at Ridgemark and at the high school’s courts.
This season, the team has 30 players—13 seniors, six juniors, four sophomores and seven freshmen.
Singles players on the varsity team include standout junior No. 1 Ally Espinoza, Blithe Richards, Vanessa Diep and Natalie Castenon. Doubles players include Brooklyn Smith paired with Kylie Correa, Desiree Barragan paired with Analeah Rodriguez, and Chloe Vasquez paired with Autumn Martinez.
Reflecting on the 2025 season, varsity captain Smith said the team had a successful season.
“Overall, I feel like we did pretty good,” Smith said. “I feel like we’re all pretty close with each other and we are a very positive team, win or lose.”
Smith said the coaching staff kept the girls positive throughout the season by maintaining a “win gracefully, lose gracefully” attitude. She said she is taking the “play the game, don’t play the opponent” philosophy into the upcoming season to continue building her ability to compete at a high level against the top teams in the league.
“It being my last year, I want to put it all on the court,” Smith said. “I’m ready to win the league.”
Diep, also a varsity captain, said she has been taking a lot of offseason lessons to prepare for her final season with the Balers.
“I want to beat the schools in the top of our division and put in my all out there,” Diep said.
Diep said she appreciates her teammates’ hard work as they gear up for their third season in the competitive division.
“Our atmosphere is super positive,” she said. “Everyone wants to be here and everyone’s willing to put in work, which I really appreciate.”
The Balers hosted a nonleague scrimmage against North Salinas on Aug. 27, winning 6-1.
Hollister’s No. 1 singles player, Espinoza, went head-to-head with North Salinas’ Kirra Madrigal. Espinoza lost the first set to Madrigal 1-6 but recovered in the second set, winning 6-4 in a tense matchup between the top players of both teams. The match went to a winner-take-all tiebreaker to decide the winner. Espinoza dominated on the court, delivering powerful forehand strokes to win 10-6.
Richards dominated in both her sets, winning 6-3 and 6-1 against North Salinas’ Abby Brito. Diep made quick work of her opponent, the Vikings’ Vanessa Francisco, winning both sets 6-1 and 6-2.
Hollister’s Castenon played a two-hour match against Nalia Emerson, winning the first set 7-5 and narrowly falling in the second set 7-6. The match went to a winner-take-all tiebreaker, with Castenon earning the victory 8-6.
Smith and her doubles partner Correa went head-to-head with the Vikings’ Bella Serha and Mayo Burges. Hollister’s pair fell in the first set 3-6 but came back in the second set to win 6-4. Smith and Correa dominated the tiebreaker, winning 10-3 and erupting into cheers after the long match.
After travelling to Gonzales High School on Sept. 1 to take on the Spartans, the Balers were scheduled to host Alisal High School on Sept. 3.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriter, Hollister Rotary, for helping expand the sports coverage around San Benito County. Rotary is a nonprofit organization that conducts humanitarian projects, encourages high ethical standards, and works toward world understanding. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour and Taylor Farms.
You must be logged in to post a comment.