Kirby YauNerves were tense and experience was limited, but the San Diego State women’s tennis team managed to pull away with two wins in a doubleheader against UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton to start off its season.
Junior Dita Hauerlandova and sophomore Alesya Vidov gave the Aztecs their first victory of the day – and the only win in the doubles matches – against UCR. But SDSU went on to win five of the six singles matches to give it a 5-2 victory over the Highlanders.
“The team was a little nervous, but we did really good,” head coach Peter Mattera said. “We got a chance to capitalize on offensive opportunities and they played with a lot more confidence.”
Just a few hours after their match against UCR, the Aztecs were back on the court to battle the Cal State Fullerton Titans.
The team came out much stronger against the Titans, sweeping doubles play – which set a tone for the rest of the matchup. Fullerton simply couldn’t hold the Aztecs back in singles, and SDSU ran away with a 6-1 victory. Titan Ruya Inapulat beat Vidov, her first and only loss of the day, but no other Aztec would lose.
“It was a good day at the office for the Aztecs,” Mattera said. “We improved a lot from the first match to the second match, which is great.”
With only one senior and five new players – four of whom are freshmen – SDSU has a very young team. Mattera, who is in his 12th season of coaching with the Aztecs, does not see that as a disadvantage.
Freshmen Carla Bell, Sisse Nielsen and Nina Spaeth all came away with wins in their first college matches. Nielsen and Spaeth each had three wins for the day. The freshmen duo paired up in the first match against Fullerton to earn a doubles win against Mai-Ly Tran and Caroline Freeman.
“The team battled through nerves and did quite well,” Mattera said. “It was a great effort and we took care of business. It was a good starting point for the season.”
SDSU will rest its legs and rackets until 2 p.m. Saturday, when it faces Long Beach State at the SDSU Tennis Stadium
