Women’s Tennis ‘mdash; For the second time this season, the women’s tennis team battled in a closely contested matchup with the Sea Warriors of Hawaii Pacific University. In the first match on March 2, the Tritons registered their season’s most dramatic win, defeating the Sea Warriors 5-4 to earn home court advantage for the inevitable rematch in the first round of the West Regional. This time around, however, it was the Sea Warriors who made the critical shots, edging the Tritons 5-3 on May 9 and ending UCSD’s season with a 15-6 record.
‘I’m very proud of what we were able to accomplish this season,’ head coach Liz LaPlante said. ‘Once you make it this far, there’s a very fine line between winning and losing, but I couldn’t have asked my girls to give anything more than they gave. We did a lot better than we expected to do from the very beginning of the season and the girls really improved and earned some huge wins over the course of the year.’
UCSD got off to an encouraging start in doubles, jumping out to a 2-1 lead. But when it came to singles, the Sea Warriors fought back, posting victories in four of the five completed matches to earn the win.
‘Doubles was great,’ LaPlante said. ‘At No. 1 and 2 doubles, we probably played our best matches of the year to win those. Even though we had the lead, I knew singles was still going to be a tough battle, and [Hawaii Pacific] really stepped it up.’
Doubles play started ominously for the Tritons, with the Sea Warriors taking the No. 3 doubles matchup in dominant fashion. Hawaii Pacific’s tandem of Sandra Wilkstrom and Alexsandra Stankovic were firing on all cylinders as they routed sophomore Valerie Tang and senior Tessa Tran by a score of 8-0. Facing an early 1-0 deficit, the Tritons’ remaining doubles teams battled back.
At the top doubles spot, the Tritons sent out senior Ina Dan and sophomore Taskeen Bains to face the 18th-ranked duo of Ingrid Cseh and Zora Vickova. Earlier in the season, Dan and Bains lost to this team by an 8-6 margin, but got off to a much better start this time around, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. Cseh and Vickova earned a service break to even the match, but it was the UCSD duo that came up with big shots when it mattered to pull out the emotional 9-7 upset victory.
The No. 2 doubles match was just as exciting, with junior Anita Athavale and sophomore Natalie Varnay forced to go the distance against Lauren Shin and Anastasia Ageychik. Tied at eight, the dramatic encounter was settled in a tiebreaker in which Athavale and Varnay secured the 7-4 win.
Down 2-1 entering singles, the Sea Warriors seized the momentum by winning the first three matches without dropping a set. Cseh rebounded from her upset loss in doubles to dispatch Athavale 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 singles, evening the score. Vickova, at No. 1 singles, helped Hawaii Pacific regain the lead for good by decisively beating Varnay 6-2, 6-0. Ageychik also earned redemption from a bitter doubles defeat, taking down Bains 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.
With their backs against the wall, Tang kept the Tritons’ slim hopes alive by winning 6-4, 6-3 over Stankovic at No. 5 singles to pull within one, but UCSD was eliminated when Tran lost 6-4, 6-0 at the No. 6 position.
The loss marked the final matches of Dan and Tran’s careers, but they leave behind an impressive legacy. The seniors were four-year contributors, helping UCSD win a conference title each year and extend its unbeaten conference streak to 59 matches.
‘It’s bittersweet to think my tennis career here is over,’ Dan said. ‘I wish it had gone differently but it is what it is. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, I couldn’t ask for anything more.’
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