Gibson's upset propels Panthers over Mustangs

Brooke Hillman entered the season as the EYL’s second-best singles player.

But she couldn’t put away Shiloah Gibson.

Tulare Western’s top player had the Porterville senior down 5-2, but lost four consecutive games and the ensuing tiebreaker, giving Gibson the match, and her biggest singles victory to date.

Boosted by their top player’s comeback upset, the Panthers, who were tied with the Mustangs after round one, rolled by them, 11-5, Tuesday night.

Gibson surprised herself with her out-of-nowhere rally.

“Actually, I’m really impressed because I was put down so much and I didn’t know if I could make it back up and I did and it was miraculous and I can’t believe it,” Gibson said.

Gibson faced match point multiple times during her rally, but managed to take three straight from a frustrated Hillman. Hillman would launch rockets at the 2008 EYL doubles champion, but Gibson managed to get to most of them and sent lobs back over the net.

“When she’d hit it to the corners, I tried to hit it back to her, making sure that it was in no matter if it was hard or not,” Gibson said.

The lob shots allowed Gibson to reset herself in the middle of the court, giving her time to prepare for Hillman’s next offering. After Gibson’s fourth straight game win, Hillman tied the match at 6, forcing a tiebreaker.

Up 5-3 in the tiebreaker, Hillman’s shot looked to land over the baseline, but Gibson called it in, allowing Hillman to crawl within one. Coach Kurt Nielsen warned her to watch the points more closely and Gibson, no longer willing to concede any points, watched the next shot land on the left side of the boundary line.

Hillman, who had been frustrated with herself throughout Gibson’s comeback, tried to lobby for her point.

“That looked like it hit the inside of the line,” Hillman shouted to Gibson.

Gibson, heeding her coach’s advice within seconds, replied, “Well, it’s my call.”

Hillman’s next serve hit the net, giving the top Panther the win, 7-6 (7-4).

“That put a stake in the heart of Tulare Western’s hopes,” said relief coach Pat McCusker (Nielsen had to leave because he teaches a class at Porterville College). “That sealed a 5-1 round for us and it took almost an hour and a half to play.”

No. 2 player Alisia Scudder lost 6-0 to Hillman, but won 6-0 in round two while Nettie Roman also split singles.

Porterville’s top doubles players bailed out their singles teammates, however. Nicole Irvin and Larissa Clem lost 6-3 in round one, but rebounded and joined the round-two landslide, winning 6-2 in their second match.

Alecia Gonzales and Nancy Valdez walked away with two doubles wins — 6-2, 6-1 — on the night.

Gonzales also won 6-2 in the third round while Wendy Suarez, despite being down 2-0, rallied to win her third-round singles match 7-5 in a tiebreaker. Gibson and Scudder’s doubles match was called early due to darkness.