Sometimes players achieving their own goals and showcasing personal growth is much more important than an actual win. The philosophy of this concept was showcased at the San Diego State Women’s Tennis team’s most recent match. The Aztecs ended the day with a 6-1 loss against the No. 37 University of San Diego on March 4 at the Aztec Tennis Center.
With the majority of their games this season being against a variety of different ranked teams, the Aztecs have had a very rigorous schedule to work with. Despite the hard schedule, the matches have been competitive and highly intensive. Each player’s individual strengths were tested as San Diego State took on the No. 37 team in the country, the USD Toreros.
Beginning the day with doubles, SDSU juniors Andjela Skrobonja and Andreea Velcea defeated their USD opponents 6-3.
As the doubles matches progressed SDSU was saddened by the close losses provided by the pair of seniors Tamara Arnold with Dariya Detkovskaya and senior Alicia Melosch with sophomore Rania Azziz.
The Aztecs did not let this outcome affect them as they entered the singles rounds full of vitality. The competition was on as the girls were filled with a fiery energy showcased through their powerful voices and flying racquets.
Due to playing so many ranked teams early in the season, the Aztecs have had to learn how to work around their disadvantages and support one another, making these games a little bit less challenging than they once were at the start of the season.
The singles play started strong for SDSU as Detkovskaya kept up her winning streak, completely dominating her singles set with two consecutive wins scoring 6-4, 6-1.
Regardless of the Aztecs losing the singles rounds 5-1, they did not go down without a fight. Even after the SDSU loss against USD was cemented, Skrobonja opted to finish her match against redshirt senior Solymar Colling, ranked 57th in the country. She took the first set with a 6-2 win but Colling dominated the next two sets with a 7-6 win, and 10-4 tiebreaker win.
Head coach Peter Mattera did not appear to be frustrated with the outcome, rather proud to see how much personal growth each of his players achieved.
“This has been one of the best matches of the year,” Mattera said. “We were highly competitive, and I was proud of how each of our girls fought today. I told the girls today we just need to learn something from the good and something from the bad so that we can take a step forward together as a team.”
In relation to practice and daily life, the coaches like to keep the players’ mind at bay by keeping their schedule the same as usual.
“We do not change our practices in relation to our opponents because we cannot control the other side of the net,” Mattera said. “I preach to the girls that we can only control our side of the net so it’s important to come into each match with the same level of competitiveness and stay true to ourselves.”
The season continues Wednesday, March 8 at 2 p.m. for the Aztecs as they host Furman University. Make your way to the Aztec Tennis Center to watch the girls compete.
