Four players from the UCSD women’s tennis team competed in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association West Regional Tournament on Oct. 2 through Oct. 4. UCSD head coach Liz LaPlante sent one junior, Jasmin Dao, and three sophomores, Jenna Ishii, Alison Ishii and Leigh Roberts, to play singles and doubles.
Dao, the only seeded Triton in singles, breezed through her first three rounds of play before losing in the semifinals. Jenna Ishii, Alison Ishii and Roberts won two rounds each before losing to seeded players.
“”Overall the girls played very well,”” LaPlante said. “”We hadn’t had any workouts yet, but the girls came back in good shape and were ready for tough competition. They had to play two rounds of singles and two rounds of doubles each day, so it was very tiring.””
Although the tournament was only in the preseason, it determines individual rankings for the upcoming season. Jenna Ishii was victorious in her first two rounds, defeating Amanda Wise of UC Davis in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round and Renee Paquillo 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. She later faced No. 1 seed Katalin Nagy of Cal State Bakersfield in the third round and lost 6-0, 6-2.
Alison Ishii soundly defeated Brittany Nelson of Western New Mexico (6-1, 6-0) advancing herself to the second round against Elly Swetz of San Francisco State. After a first set victory, she was unable to finish off Swetz, losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Roberts received a bye in the first round and faced Nancy Mok of UC Davis, whom she defeated in straight sets with identical scores of 6-3, 6-3, advancing her to the third round. Roberts continued her strong play in the third round, defeating Grand Canyon’s Sarah Mitchell (6-0, 6-1) and advancing herself to the quarterfinals, where she fell to Dehlia Feliz of Cal Poly Pomona, 6-4, 6-3.
Dao, seeded No. 3, received a bye in the first round before defeating Yuka Otaka of UC Davis with a score of 7-5, 6-3 in the second round. Dao had mixed feelings about playing Otaka, a fellow Granada Hills High School graduate and ex-teammate.
“”It was hard to play Yuka because I knew her in high school, so it brought a mental factor to the match, having to play against a former teammate,”” Dao said.
Despite the circumstances, Dao breezed past Otaka in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3. She faced Nanor DeKermenjian of Cal Poly Pomona in the third round and easily won the match with a score of 6-0, 6-2.
This victory advanced Dao to the quarterfinals against Ally Muller of UC Davis, whom she has played close matches against in the past.
“”My match against Muller was a really big match because our matches always turn out so close,”” Dao said. “”I was nervous but I focused harder because I wanted to compete well against her. It was a long and tiring match but I played pretty well.””
Dao indeed played well, edging Muller in straight sets with identical scores of 6-4, 6-4. This win advanced Dao to the semifinals against Hungarian-born Katalin Nagy of Cal State Bakersfield, the No. 1 seed. Dao fell to Nagy (6-1, 6-4), who went on to capture the ITA West Regional singles title. Although disappointed by the loss, Dao was happy to be playing competitively again.
“”I played pretty well the first three rounds despite being rusty because I haven’t been competing much lately. But, it all comes back together at the end. I was also really glad to play doubles, that’s where I have the most fun,”” she said.
The joy Dao has in doubles play translated into success for her and her partner Roberts, who reached the finals in the tournament.
Dao and Roberts, the No. 3 seed, received a bye in the first round and defeated Cal Poly Pomona’s DeKermenjian and Jennie Burgraf 8-4 in the second round. Dao and Roberts continued their strong play in the quarterfinals and semifinals against UC Davis, beating Jan Fong and Audrey Wingo, 8-5, and Wise and Lehman, 8-3.
Cal Poly Pomona’s Feliz and Katrina Holmberg, the No. 4-seeded doubles pair, proved to be too much for Dao and Roberts, who lost 8-3 in the finals.
Even though the Tritons had not yet held a formal practice, the successes of Dao, Roberts and the Ishiis look promising for the upcoming season.
“”The team is looking really strong with all top players back and many strong freshmen joining the team,”” LaPlante said.
