On any team, the loss of old players and addition of new players usually takes some getting used to. This season, seven of the 12 players on the UCSD women’s tennis team are freshmen. However, its first match of the season proves that the team is as strong as ever. On Feb. 1, the Tritons beat CSU San Bernardino, setting the tone for another dominant season.
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“”We played well,”” said UCSD head coach Liz LaPlante. “”This game allowed the girls to get the jitters out and the freshmen to get their feet wet.””
UCSD’s three doubles teams, playing eight-game pro sets, never allowed CSUSB to have the upper hand. The Tritons’ doubles No. 1 team of freshman Jenna Ishii and junior co-captain Julie Westerman won 8-3, the doubles No. 2 team of sophomore Jasmin Dao and freshman Tara Siddiqui won 8-0, and the doubles No. 3 team of junior co-captain Kristina Jansen and freshman Leigh Roberts won 8-1.
In the singles matches, Dao defeated CSUSB co-captain Heather Lehman in two sets (6-3, 6-0). Lehman won Tennis Player of the Week Awards last year. Jansen also won in two sets, 6-0 and 6-1, against Coyote co-captain Cassie Sumrow.
Westerman defeated CSUSB freshman Sarah Majors 6-0, 6-1. All UCSD freshman singles players, Siddiqui, Marissa Hilker and Roberts, won their sets 6-0, 6-0; 6-1, 6-2; and 6-1, 6-0, respectively.
LaPlante is confident that even with the relatively new team, the Tritons will finish just as strongly as they have in the past. These thoughts are shared by the team.
“”It’s different because the team is half new,”” Ishii said. “”But everyone gets along really well, and the captains are really helping us come together.””
Despite a great start, LaPlante recognizes that the team has things to work on before it faces its toughest competition: Cal Poly Pomona on Feb. 20 and Grand Canyon University on Feb. 22.
“”Overall, everyone needs to get match tough and get a lot more confident for when we play the better schools,”” LaPlante said. “”Playing against teammates is much different than playing another school — it’s a lot more pressure and we need to play more matches to get us better mentally.””
