The UCSD women’s tennis team competed for the first time in the West Florida Tournament April 3 through April 5. The Tournament did not have a winner or a loser, but instead was a chance for many schools to play each other to gain experience and practice. This was especially beneficial for the Tritons, who were able to play against some of the top teams in the country.
Guardian file
UCSD participated in doubles matches against North Florida and Valdosta State and in singles matches against the West Florida Arganots. Against UNF, UCSD lost 6-3. The Tritons lost a close match against Valdosta 5-4. Against UWF, UCSD was only able to compete in four matches, all of which the Tritons lost.
“”It was a great experience for the team, and as we know, we have to continue to improve our doubles to assure us some points there,”” said Triton head coach Liz LaPlante.
In the first game against North Florida, the No. 1 doubles team of Liliana Hung and Elizabeth Rodgers defeated UCSD’s Julie Westerman and Jenna Ishii 8-6. At No. 2, Erika Hirth and Allison Davidson defeated Jasmin Dao and Tara Siddiqui 8-1. On the No. 3 court, Julie Stoppelli and Melody Le Goff defeated Kristina Jansen and Allison Ishii 8-2. UCSD entered the singles matches down 0-3.
Davidson stepped up to the No. 1 singles position and defeated Westerman. At No. 2, Hung defeated Dao. At No. 3, Siddiqui won a rematch against Hirth. At No. 4, Jansen recovered from her earlier defeat to win against Rodgers. Leigh Roberts, at the No. 5 court, defeated Stoppelli. At No. 6, Le Goff defeated Marissa Hilker.
UCSD next faced Valdosta, which the Tritons lost with a close score of 5-4. The No. 1 doubles team of Eva Petschnig and Annika Biro defeated Westerman and Jenna Ishii 8-3. At No. 2, Dao and Siddiqui were defeated by Natalia Drabova and Iris Staub 8-1. At No. 3, UCSD’s Jansen and Allison Ishii defeated Claudia Hesse and Emily Miller 8-2.
At No. 1 singles, Petsching defeated Westerman. At No. 2, Dao won the rematch against Drabova. Bing defeated Siddiqui, and at No. 4, Staub defeated Jansen. At No. 5, Roberts defeated Francisca Osedumme. At No. 6, Hilker defeated Miller.
“”The Valdosta match came down to No. 3 Tara Siddiqui’s third set to determine the winner,”” LaPlante said. “”Tara played one of the best matches I’ve seen, and although she lost, she played a fantastic match and never quit.””
The last game UCSD played was against West Florida. However, the Tritons were only able to finish four matches before pulling out to get to the airport.
At the No. 1 singles court, Sabine Krawietz defeated Westerman 6-1, 6-1. At No. 4, Giulianna Oblitas defeated Jansen 6-2, 6-4. At No. 5, Roberts was defeated for the first time that weekend against Pilar Cortez 6-1, 7-6. At No. 6, Miranda Dutra defeated Hilker 6-3, 6-3.
“”All the teams were tough,”” LaPlante said. “”West Florida, which we didn’t finish, is ranked No. 4 nationally, North Florida [is] ranked No. 11 and Valdosta [is] No. 15. We’re No. 13. The first two matches could have gone either way.””
With only one more game until the post season, LaPlante is proud of what the team was able to accomplish in Florida.
“”All the teams have mostly foreign players, who are very strong,”” LaPlante said. “”Their top players are very good, but we compete fairly evenly at the lower end of the line up because of our depth.””
The Tritons next face Point Loma Nazarene on April 14 at home.
“”The Point Loma match will be a good tuneup for the conference tourney, where we hope to avenge our loss to Cal Poly Pomona in the finals,”” LaPlante said. “”This is very important since it determines the ranking in the region and who and where we would play in the NCAA regional qualifying the beginning of May.””
