Box Score By Jacob Norling
April 20, 2021
 
(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Westmont Women's Tennis (7-9, 4-4 GSAC) kicked off the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament with a bang on Tuesday morning, handing Arizona Christian (3-11, 3-5) a 4-0 loss to send the Warriors to the tournament semis.
 
"Our players came out ready to take care of business from the first ball," said head coach Ellie Johnson. "We were dominant in doubles at the net, and carried into singles with smart point set up and solid execution."
 
In doubles play the Firestorm did not have a duo play on court three, meaning they would need to take both of the first two courts in order to steal the doubles point from the Warriors. Cade Pierson and Rachal Jackson had no intention of allowing that attempt to become legitimate, as they defeated Karla Grobbelaar and Deondra Bacchus 6-1 to claim the first point of the match.
 
In singles play ACU was also a player short, giving the Warriors a court six victory by default and a 2-0 lead right off the bat.
 
Christine Hemry turned in the most dominant performance of the morning for the Warriors on court four, as she won twelve consecutive games to defeat Samantha Salim 6-0, 6-0. Olivia Madarang showed similar success on court five, as she punched Westmont's ticket to the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Sylvie Schoenen.
 
"It was an exciting start to the tournament," said Johnson. "We are playing the best tennis we have played all season and I'm looking forward to see how it comes together tomorrow in the battle with SDC."
 
Tomorrow the Warriors will go head to head with the number one seeded Hawks who come in as the #12 team in the NAIA. While the Warriors took the rest of the day to recover and prepare accordingly, they also received exciting news from the GSAC.
 
Cade Pierson and Rachal Jackson were named to the All-GSAC team on Tuesday afternoon, and Johnson joined them as she was named the GSAC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career.
 
Pierson, a former NAIA second team All-American, receives All-GSAC honors for the fourth time in her career to cap off a lengthy resume that also includes the GSAC Newcomer of the Year award back in 2017. The senior captain has dominated on court one for the Warriors, going 5-1 in singles play against GSAC opponents.
 
"Cade has dominated in our conference for all five years she's been here," said Johnson. "She has an outstanding reputation in the GSAC because of how she battles start to finish and treat her opponents with respect."
 
Pierson's doubles partner Jackson earned All-GSAC Honors for the first time in her Westmont career. Together the two have gone 5-3 in doubles play against GSAC opponents, and on court two Jackson has been one of Westmont's most reliable sources of scoring. Jackson has claimed five singles matches in her redshirt sophomore season.
 
"Rachal has developed into a steady, strong player over the last few years. She has figured out her strengths as a player and knows how to execute them. Cade and Rachal are pretty unstoppable in doubles."
 
For Johnson this is the second time she has been named conference Coach of the Year, after leading the Warriors to a regular season and tournament championship in 2019. In her fifth season at the helm for the Warriors, Johnson has led the team back to the tournament semis where they'll take on the team they defeated in 2019 to claim the tournament title.
 
Regarding the award, Johnson said, "It's an honor to be Coach of the Year especially in a conference full of great coaches. I feel blessed to represent Westmont and be able to coach a team of excellent players and even more important, wonderful people."
 
Johnson and her team play the Hawks at 8:00 AM tomorrow, with a trip to the GSAC Championship on the line.