The San Diego State women’s tennis team got their season going under perfect weather this past weekend as they hosted the SDSU Fall Classic I at the Aztec Tennis Center.

From Sept. 27 to Sept. 29, the Aztecs hosted University of San Diego, and Loyola Marymount, Duke, Pepperdine, New Mexico State and Grand Canyon universities with players from all schools being mixed and matched in five separate brackets.

Despite it being the first event of the season, SDSU looked sharp and  head coach Peter Mattera said, they improved every day.

[quote]“I thought the Aztecs had a good weekend … I think we’ve gotten off to a good start. I was really proud of the fact that we played better every day in doubles and singles,” Mattera said.[/quote]

Playing in her first collegiate event, freshman Olivia Larsson was the lone Aztec player to reach a final match that wasn’t a consolation. However, she was defeated by sophomore Mia Brandt of NMSU 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Earlier in the morning, Larsson and her doubles partner, sophomore Dora Somoracz, were defeated 8-1 by the Aggies’ team of Brandt and sophomore Chloe Jolliff.

Somoracz’s intensity was too much for Loyola Marymount’s freshman Anastasia Koveshnikova to cope with later on in singles as Somoracz blasted her way to a 6-3, 6-0 victory.

Junior Hailey Johnson and sophomore Tami Nguyen won their consolation doubles final against sophomores Mikayla Morkel-Brink and Marta Stojanovic of USD by storming back from a three-game deficit to win 8-7 in a tiebreak.

Nguyen lost her singles match afterwards—a three-hour marathon— to sophomore Michaela Caponnolo from Pepperdine 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-2. This came after Nguyen had lost a hard-fought three and a half hour match the previous day to USD senior Anna Depenau.

[quote]Coach Mattera said Nguyen, “ Is a battler, never ever gives up. She’s going to stay out there ‘til the handshake, win or lose.”[/quote]

SDSU’s lone senior Laura Antonana Iriarte and her doubles partner, junior Kristin Buth, lost a back-and-forth doubles match against freshman Alyssa Smith and senior Marianne Jodoin of Duke by a score of 8-7.

Later in the day, Antonana Iriarte prevailed in a mesmerizing battle with Pepperdine’s freshman Yuki Chiang 6-4, 6-4. Buth also prevailed in her consolation singles match, out-dueling NMSU’s freshman Brittany Collens 6-0, 7-5.

The Aztecs have a two-week layoff before the ITA West Regional, which starts on Oct. 17 at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.

Photo by Wesley Beights, Staff Photographer