The UCSD women’s tennis team celebrated Valentine’s Day by defeating host Cal State Bakersfield in its 2004 California Collegiate Athletic Association opener on Feb. 14, giving the Tritons an undefeated record early in the season. The 7-2 win improved the UCSD’s record to 3-0 overall.
The Tritons’ two losses came in the No. 1 singles and doubles positions. The ’Runners’ Katalin Nagy defeated senior Julie Westerman in a close 6-7 (7-5), 2-6 match. Nagy then teamed up with Leah Espericueta to defeat Westerman and No. 2 singles player junior Jasmin Dao, 8-6, at No. 1 doubles.
“Nagy was a very strong player so it was definitely a tough match. The first set was very close, it came down to a tie-breaker at the end,” Westerman said. “But in the second set, she stopped making errors, began hitting more winners and placing her shots better.”
Tritons were able to finish the rest of their matches without a problem. Dao defeated Espericueta in a quick 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles. No. 5 and No. 6 singles players Kristina Jansen and Katie McKee both posted 6-0, 6-0 scores against their opponents.
At the No. 3 singles position, Leigh Roberts defeated her opponent, Glenda Love, 6-4 and 6-0, and No. 4 singles Marissa Hilker defeated Marti Hoyt in a quick and painless 6-1, 6-1 match.
The doubles line-up fared well also: No. 2 doubles sophomore Tara Siddiqui and freshman Kristin Bronowicki defeated their opponents, 8-3, and at No. 3 doubles Roberts and McKee pulled out a swift 8-0 victory.
“[Cal State] Bakersfield had one very strong player, but that’s all that they could rely on,” Westerman said. “The rest of their line-up didn’t match up very well, so they didn’t have anything else to fall back on.”
Through the entire line-up, the Tritons allowed Bakersfield only 25 game points, 14 of them against Nagy. The Tritons were able to rely on the depth of their lineup to defeat the Roadrunners, a strength that the team will count on throughout the rest of its season.
“The key is to just play your own game and not to worry about your opponent,” Westerman said. “We just need to implement everything we’ve worked on and we’ll be fine.”
The Tritons traveled to Los Angeles to play Cal State Los Angeles on Feb. 16, but results of that match were unavailable at press time. UCSD will be playing at home for their next match on Feb. 19 against Western New Mexico.
