The Coronado girls doubles team of Bella Gallegos and Kamilah Saine had to quickly turn the page after the Cougars last last week’s Class 5A team state title match to prepare for the doubles individual tournament this week.
The Coronado duo did just that and were able to cap their season off with a win.
Gallegos and Saine won the 5A doubles individual state title Friday at Faith Lutheran, defeating Bishop Gorman’s Leilani Raymond and Camila Perez 7-6(5), 6-4.
“It just feels amazing,” Gallegos said. “It’s kind of crazy. It was a very competitive match, which was a lot of fun. But winning aside my best friend was the best thing that could happen. I love it.”
Gallegos and Saine led 5-2 in the first set before Raymond and Perez forced a tiebreaker. The Coronado duo buckled down to win the tiebreaker 7-5 to win the first set.
“It was really close,” Gallegos said. “It was very competitive, but I feel like we just kept each other up. Anytime we saw each other getting down, we would make sure we stayed positive and kept being aggressive. We didn’t want them to (cheer) louder) than us in a sense.
Gallegos, a junior, won the doubles title last year with Gigi Smart.
Saine and Gallegos played together in the past and in a tournament in Texas this year.
“We’re really close, so I feel like that chemistry was already there,” Saine, a sophomore said. “We were able to bring that into our doubles matches the whole week. Having that sense that we could come back better this week from a negative thing that happened last week to winning is really good.”
In the 5A girls singles match, Faith Lutheran’s Heidi Bergin defeated Coronado’s Erika Gallegos 6-0, 6-6 after Erika Gallegos retired in the second set due to an injury.
“My match went really good,” Bergin, a freshman said. “Erika’s a great player. It was sad that we had to end it with her injury, but I hope she feels better. I’m proud of the way I played.
Bergin is Faith Lutheran’s first tennis singles individual state champion. Bergin helped the Crusaders win the 5A team state title last week at Coronado in a tiebreaker round.
“It gave us a lot of confidence,” Bergin said of winning the team state title last week. “It was a really exciting time. It gave me a lot of confidence coming into individual state.
Both 5A boys singles and doubles individual title matches were decided in the third and final set, and it was Faith Lutheran athletes that came out victorious in both matches.
In what could be considered the match of the year, Faith Luthearn’s Tyson Young won the boys singles individual title 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5) over Bishop Gorman’s Lucas Rago. Young won a tiebreaker in the final set 7-5 to win the title.
“Super proud of Tyson,” Faith Lutheran coach Keith Fridrich said in a text message, who credited both Young and Rago in what he said was some of the best high school tennis he’s ever seen. “This was a goal of his for so long, and for him to save four match points and force the tiebreaker, and then come away with a win, it was very special, and a testament to all the work he has put in during the off season.”
In boys doubles, the Faith Lutheran duo of Davey Gluth and Michael Bergin defeated the Bishop Gorman tendem of Shawn DeMilliano and Rumi Figuero 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 to win the title.
“Can’t say enough about Davey and Michael,” Fridrich said. “They faced two match points in the semis and came up big, and then played a really good match in the final to get the win against a very solid Gorman duo. Michael has been a massive part of our team the last two years, and Davey’s development such a prime example of the power of perseverance. So happy for them.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
