East's Ramirez claims SEYL singles title
| Saturday, Oct 25 2008 02:40 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 02:35 PM
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East's Nancy Ramirez, shown during the recent SEYL singles tennis championship at In Shape-Laurel Glen, had a hand in both East's wins Tuesday in the Blades' 7-2 loss to Garces in the Central Section tennis playoffs.
Eleven matches into a comeback from a couple of freak injuries, East sophomore Nancy Ramirez finally knows she's back.
Ramirez beat Liberty's Estefania Limpias 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to win the Southeast Yosemite League girls tennis singles title Friday at In-Shape Sport Laurel Glen.
It was a victory she'd been waiting for -- not sure if it would ever come -- since a wrist surgery went awry this summer and she injured her foot in an accident at the beginning of the school year.
"It was really reassuring, this soon after the injury," East coach Christopher Combs said. "I'd say it's more reassuring to her."
Ramirez played last year with a cyst on her right wrist, an injury that would swell and cause her problems in long matches. She had surgery over the summer but, as a result, has lost feeling in most of her hand and all movement in three fingers.
Doctors are still trying to figure out what went wrong during surgery and might undergo another procedure this winter.
"It was scary, obviously," Ramirez said. "But I just try to stay positive with things like this. You can't let yourself get down. I just tried playing tennis, and I figured out a way to play."
But then, after just one match this season, Ramirez injured the top of her foot in an accident with a friend she declines to discuss in detail. That kept her out for a good portion of the regular season.
Still, Ramirez was 9-1 heading into Friday's league semifinals -- her only loss 10-4 in a third-set tiebreaker to Limpias. She dispatched Garces' Carly Tucker 6-0, 6-1 in a morning semifinal, then rode out a few peaks and valleys to edge Limpias.
"There was a lot of momentum; you have to be able to feel when it's not going in your direction," Ramirez said.
Limpias overcame a shaky start to dominate the second set, but then lost her momentum as the players took a 10-minute break before the deciding set began.
"I was ready to keep going," Limpias said.
The biggest turn of events during the break might have been when Ramirez switched to a lighter racket, even though it was broken, to aid her fatigued hand.
"It took a little while to get used to it being that tired," Ramirez said. "The other racket doesn't have as much control, but it's lighter."
She then broke Limpias' serve twice on her way to a 5-2 lead and finally put the top-seeded Liberty player away on her third match point.
The experience will be useful for both players as they advance through the Central Section tournament, which begins next Saturday and concludes Nov. 8. Both expect to be seeded among the top six singles players.
The top four singles and doubles players advance from league to the section's individual tournaments. Tucker beat Foothill's Kasandra Beadle 6-0, 6-0 for third place in singles.
In doubles, Liberty's No. 2 team of Mallory Long and Kylie Carls upset No. 1-seeded Zoe Tucker and Abby Wattenbarger of Garces 7-5, 7-6 in the semifinals and then beat teammates Darci Smith and Laura Hicks 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 for the championship.
Zoe Tucker and Wattenbarger beat Torri Provencio and Leanne Olson of Bakersfield High 6-2, 7-5 for third.
