David J. Olender / Photo EditorWhile the 6-1 final score might not reflect it, the San Diego State women’s tennis team exceeded its expectations against No. 2-ranked California on Friday afternoon.
“I felt that we had a really good match,” head coach Peter Mattera said. “We definitely played the best we have all year.”
Right from the start, SDSU (4-1) had its work cut out as the Golden Bears squad featured three nationally ranked players. However, the Aztecs proved they could compete with just about anybody as they took two out of the first three doubles matches. The biggest doubles win came when sophomore Julia Trunk and senior Holly Bagshaw took down Cal’s No.7-ranked duo of Marina Cossou and Claire Ilcinkas 8-5.
The freshman pair of Roxanne and Sierra Ellison also chipped in with a victory of their own in a nail biter, beating the Golden Bears’ duo of Mari Andersson and Marion Ravelojaona 9-8 (6).
“All of the matches were very, very close,” Mattera said. “We definitely played our best doubles in years.”
SDSU gave Cal all it could handle in a five-hour marathon between the two squads, but the Golden Bears went on to sweep every singles match, including a three-set marathon between Bagshaw and Andersson, which Andersson won 2-6, 6-4, 7-6, (7-5). Senior Esther Cadua and sophomore Olivia Colman also took their singles matches to three sets. Although the match will go down as a loss in the record book, the Aztecs left the match with the confidence that they can compete with just about anyone in the entire country. “We gave the Bears everything they wanted and more,” Mattera said. “If we keep making progress, we could see them again.”
SDSU now turns its attention to another nationally ranked opponent, No. 41 Pepperdine. With such close matches against Cal, the Aztecs will have to focus on finishing off opponents if they want to compete with another big-time opponent. Although the Waves (2-3) do not boast any nationally ranked players, SDSU knows it will be playing with the same kind of intensity that the Golden Bears brought to the Aztec Tennis Center on Friday. “We need to play big points just a little bit better,” Mattera said. “In order to win the conference or go to tournaments, we have to take advantage of those big moments.”
The Aztecs will face off against Pepperdine at 2 p.m. today at the Aztec Tennis Center.
