WOMEN’S TENNIS ‘mdash; As No. 10 UCSD readies to conclude its regular season, the Tritons appear primed to keep their remarkable streak in California Collegiate Athletic Association play intact. UCSD extended its unprecedented run in conference to 58 straight wins when it defeated Cal State Los Angeles 9-0 at home on April 4. Despite the dominating score, head coach Liz LaPlante was still able to find playing time for her reserves, showcasing the tremendous depth of talent she has at her disposal.
‘With our season quickly coming to a close, I really wanted to let some other girls get an opportunity to play,’ LaPlante said. ‘I have such a wealth of talent to choose from when I’m making the ladder, and it really showed with the results we had against Cal State L.A. The Golden Eagles aren’t one of the stronger teams in our league, but it was still impressive to see the way our team continued to compete. It’s very rewarding to see our team translate all the hard work we put in practice onto the court, especially against conference opponents.’
All six singles matches were decided in straight sets, and after solid performance by the three doubles teams, the match with the Golden Eagles was over after just two hours. Sophomores Natalie Varnay and Taskeen Bains catalyzed the impressive performance with their tremendous play at the top two singles spots, just as they have all season. At No. 1 singles, Varnay surrendered only three games to her opponent Lana Lamesic, winning 6-3, 6-0, while Bains dispatched Adriana Espinosa 6-1, 6-4. Bains and Varnay teamed up at the No. 1 doubles position to grab an 8-1 victory over Espinosa and Jennifer Chung.
LaPlante used the last four singles spots to exhibit her team’s array of depth and get some action in for rookies like freshmen Samantha Yeung and Lauren Saket. While both are expected to be important contributors in the years to come, they both had a chance to showcase what the team’s future holds. Saket earned the most convincing win of the day, a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Crystal Lam at No. 6 singles. Yeung was just as dominant, triumphing over Jennifer Chung 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 5 singles spot.
‘Even though it was only my second match of the season, I wasn’t really nervous at all,’ Saket said. ‘Every day in practice, I’ve just learned so much from [senior captains] Ina Dan and Tessa Tran, and I feel like I’ve grown immensely since the start of the season.’
Sophomore Roxy Pourmirzaie, who competed in only two matches as a freshman, had the opportunity to play in front of the home fans at No. 3 singles. Pourmirzaie showed fine form in defeating Marine Prevost 6-3, 6-1.
Senior Rina Nakano was penciled in for her first singles match of the year at No. 4 and didn’t disappoint, beating Joyce Librando 6-1, 6-3.
Looking ahead, the Tritons have two more regular-season matches remaining before the start of regional play. ‘ First up is Point Loma Nazarene on April 15 in UCSD’s final home match of the season. The tilt will mark Senior Day for Dan, Tran and Nakano, all of whom have heavily contributed to UCSD’s conference win streak during their time as Tritons.
UCSD will finish its regular season on the road against Cal Poly Pomona on April 18 ‘shy;’mdash; a team the Tritons defeated 8-1 earlier this season ‘mdash; hoping to finish its sixth consecutive season undefeated in conference play.
The regular-season matches will culminate with the NCAA West Regional tournament, which begins on May 9. Should the Tritons advance, they will compete in the NCAA National Championships from May 13 to May 16, taking place in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Readers can contact Neil Joshi at [email protected].