produces third title
The San Diego State women’s tennis team (17-12; 6-4 Western Athletic Conference) went over to Tulsa, Okla., last Wednesday and proceeded to clean house as it swept four WAC opponents in four days to capture its first WAC title since 1992.
The clinching blow was delivered on Saturday as SDSU, playing as the fourth seed, topped No. 2 seed Brigham Young (14-9; 7-2 WAC) 5-2. This marked the fifth straight year the two have met in the WAC finals.
“It was a complete team effort,” head coach Peter Mattera said. “They raised their level of play so significantly.”
The team was sparked in the second round as it stormed back from a 4-2 deficit after singles play against Fresno State (14-10; 3-4 WAC) to sweep the doubles competition and win 5-4, catapulting the Aztecs into the third round unscathed.
“After the Fresno State match, it was just a huge turn-around day for the team,” Mattera said. “I think they finally began to realize what they were capable of.”
The win ended a four-year run of frustration for SDSU, who had been runner-up to 30th-ranked Cougars in each of the last four WAC tournaments.
“We’ve been working hard and have been close in the past,” Mattera said. “Two years ago we were just two points away and didn’t win. But this week we won three tough matches and peaked at the right time.”
Saturday’s victory avenged a terrible 8-1 beating the Aztecs suffered earlier in the season against BYU on April 12.
SDSU, after winning three of the first five singles matches, was anchored by No. 2 singles player Merete Lindahl. Lindahl defeated Angela Jewell in a three-set marathon 7-5, 6-7 (7-2), 6-0. The victory was pivotal as it gave SDSU a 4-2 advantage instead of a 3-3 tie going into doubles. It set the tone for what would be a hard fought tournament final as five of the six singles matches went three sets.
“Merete lost a really tough second set in the tie break but then came back to just bury (Jewell) in the third, 6-0,” Mattera said. “That was the last singles match completed, and it gave us a tremendous amount of momentum going into doubles.”
There were other Aztec singles victories: No. 4 player Sarah Donovan, beat Willy Lee Chan 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; No. 5 player Emma Doyle overcame Shari Smith 6-4, 6-0; and No. 6 player Simone Howard outlasted Juliet Adler 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
“Simone stepped in with a huge effort at the six position and won a critical point for us,” Mattera said. “The four singles points in the match were huge. It gave us such confidence going into doubles.”
With the 4-2 lead heading into doubles play, SDSU needed only one victory to secure the title. In what turned out to be the only doubles match Friday afternoon, the Aztec tandem of Jeanette Bhaguandas and Donovan demonstrated why they were named to the first team All-WAC as a duo, by beating Eline Chew and Adrien Jenkins 8-2.
SDSU earned a berth to its seventh straight WAC Championship final match against BYU by defeating top-seeded University of Nevada-Las Vegas (17-6; 6-1 WAC) 5-3 on Friday.
“As a group, they really played their finest match of the year against UNLV,” Mattera said. “They really stepped up and played their game without fear.”
