The No. 19 UCSD women’s tennis team continued its victory streak Feb. 16, improving its overall record to 4-0 by defeating California Collegiate Athletic Association foe Cal State Los Angeles at the CSULA Tennis Complex.

“[Cal State] L.A. was a much improved team,” UCSD head coach Liz LaPlante said. “We really needed to play well to win. We didn’t expect them to be quite so strong … They got some new freshmen, but we were still able to pull out a win.”

The Tritons were able to experiment with their doubles lineup against Cal State Los Angeles. UCSD senior Julie Westerman and junior Jasmin Dao quickly defeated their opponents, Phoebe Bacofer and Ronalyn Miller, in an 8-4 match. In addition, at No. 2 doubles, sophomore Tara Siddiqui teamed up with freshman Kristin Bronowicki to defeat their Golden Eagle opponents in a convincing 8-1 victory.

But at No. 3 doubles, freshman Katie McKee and sophomore Leigh Roberts had a much tougher time handling their Golden Eagle opponents, losing 9-8; as a result, the Tritons headed into the singles matches with a 2-1 lead.

UCSD managed to give up only two matches against the Golden Eagles at the No. 1 and No. 5 singles positions. Both Dao and Roberts managed to pull off wins in some close second-set scares. Dao was able to hold off Bachofer at No. 2 singles, winning the first set, 6-2, and rallying from behind in the second set to win 7-6 in a tiebreaker, narrowly avoiding a third set. Roberts finished the first set, 6-2, as well, and then finished the second set with a close 7-5 victory.

Triton sophomore Marissa Hilker had a relatively trouble-free match, beating Maggie Bollinger, 6-0 and 6-4, at No. 4 singles. McKee, who was named the CCAA Player of the Week on the day of the match, easily outmaneuvered her opponent, 6-0 and 6-0. McKee was given the honor for her 2-0 record in both singles and doubles against Alliant International and Point Loma Nazarene last week; in both of which she held her opponents off 6-0 and 6-0.

“Katie is a really solid player,” LaPlante said. “She has a lot of untapped potential, and since she is only a freshman, she will definitely gain more experience throughout the season.”

The Tritons will try to extend their winning streak as they host Western New Mexico on Feb. 20. Western New Mexico will be looking for their first win of the season against UCSD.

“What we’re doing right now is just getting some confidence and experience under our belt. We’re gearing up for some big matches in March,” LaPlante said. “Our big match against [Cal Poly] Pomona will help us assess where we are in conference.”