WOMEN’S TENNIS ‘mdash; The women’s tennis team started off an incredible week of action with an upset victory over regional rival Hawaii Pacific University on March 2. It had been three years since the Tritons last beat the Sea Warriors, but junior Anita Athavale and senior Tessa Tran both secured comeback wins to end the streak.
‘It was so rewarding to finally beat Hawaii Pacific,’ Tran said. ‘We had come so close to beating them in the past, and I felt like I had to win this match so that our team could finally get over that hump and prove to ourselves that we can play at their level.’
Following the win, the Tritons took care of business in California Collegiate Athletic Association play, a routine job for head coach Liz LaPlante’s group. UCSD posted wins over Cal Poly Pomona (8-1), Sonoma State (8-1) and Cal State San Bernardino (9-0), improving to an 8-2 overall and 7-0 league record. The wins also helped extend the Tritons’ streak of 56 consecutive wins over conference opponents.
‘I take pride in how competitive and deep my team is, and getting things done in our conference is a constant reminder of what our hard work is accomplishing,’ LaPlante said.
With none of UCSD’s conference opponents getting in the team’s way so far this season, the Tritons are riding a wave of momentum that will likely lead them to a sixth consecutive CCAA title. UCSD has won its seven league matches by a combined score of 57-6, and owns a three-game lead over Sonoma State and Cal Poly Pomona. The surging Tritons will host Rollins College on March 10, Florida Southern College on March 13 and Cal State Stanislaus in a CCAA match on March 14.
Hawaii Pacific had beaten the Tritons three times over the past two seasons, including once in the 2007 Division-II NCAA Tournament. This match had a much different feel as UCSD stood up to its rival from the beginning; all three doubles matches were hotly contested, setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
UCSD took a 1-0 lead when the Sea Warriors’ No. 2 doubles retired due to injury while trailing 5-2 against Athavale and sophomore Natalie Varnay. In the No. 1 doubles match, senior Ina Dan and sophomore Taskeen Bains battled Hawaii Pacific before succumbing to an 8-6 loss. Hawaii Pacific grabbed the final doubles point at the No. 3 seed on an entertaining 9-8 win over UCSD’s sophomore Valerie Tang and Tran.
‘Our team felt like we should have won all three doubles matches,’ Tran said. ‘In our match, we fought hard to come back from a 7-4 deficit to force a tiebreaker. We felt really good about our chances in the breaker, so when we lost it we were very upset.’
Trailing 2-1 entering singles play, UCSD quickly found itself in a deeper deficit after two lopsided defeats. With their backs against the wall and down 4-1, the Tritons conjured up some of their best tennis to snatch the improbable win. Tang, at the No. 4 position, and Bains, at the No. 5 seed helped UCSD get two more points with critical victories that closed the deficit to one and set the stage for the late-game heroics of their teammates.
Readers can contact Neil Joshi at [email protected].