San Diego State women’s tennis fell short, 4-3, in a hard fought match against Long Beach State on a cold and windy day at the Aztec Tennis Courts.
This is the first loss for the Aztecs after a streak of winning all 21 points during their first three matches.
“We knew it was going to be close,” head coach Peter Mattera said. “ They are a very good and I think we are a very good team and it came down to the last set.”
The match was a battle from the start as both teams were fighting for the early advantage in the doubles matches. After splitting two games, it came down to Mia Smith and Alicia Melosch to secure the point for the Aztecs. The pair powered back after a brief rally from Long Beach State and eventually won the game 7-5 and captured the lead.
In singles action, Jenny Moinard appeared to avenge her doubles loss as she put on an impressive performance against Long Beach State’s Wiktoria Rutkowska. This seemed to be Moinard’s toughest opponent yet as her straight set victory was anything but easy. She eventually won the first set in a tiebreaker after rallying back to force the deciding game. Moinard won her sets 7-6 (7-2) and 6-3.
Another standout in their singles game was Nnena Nadozie, who was able to make quick work of her opponent. Nadozie won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, and looked as if she never had a worry as she cruised to the second singles point.
Long Beach State would win three singles matches to tie the score at 3-3. The Aztecs were in an unfamiliar place as, so far this season, they had dominated their opponents.
The last match followed the common dramatic theme as Long Beach State took the first set 6-2.
Throughout the set, Sophomore Abbie Mulbarger was not afraid to show her disappointment. However, in the second set, Mulbarger looked to even the score. She controlled the action for most of the second set and showed that the first set was not her best form. She eventually ended up winning the set 6-1. This led into the final set.
At this point in the match, all of the other games had ended, so all eyes were on this contest. The action went back and forth between the two competitors, but eventually Long Beach State overcame Mulbarger to win the match 4-3.
“We hope that they have even a bit more fire in their belly after this match,” Mattera said. “We’re all a little upset that we didn’t get that one.”
The Aztecs next game is Feb. 9 at Cal State Fullerton, followed by a home game against Cal Poly on Feb. 10.
