San Diego State women’s tennis defeated San Francisco State University by a score of 4-1 at the Aztec Tennis Center on April 8.
SDSU (9-10, 0-1 MW) started by winning two doubles matches, which allowed the team to jump out to an early 1-0 lead over the Dons (3-14, 1-4 MW).
Aztecs sophomore Mia Smith and junior Jenny Moinard led the charge in doubles, defeating sophomore Emily Maxfield and freshman Mya Bui (6-3).
“I feel like we do few things very well, me and Mia, and that we just repeat every game,” Moinard said. “It’s about knowing what you are good at and repeating and being consistent with it.”
Both Moinard and Smith are dealing with injuries as the regular season nears its end, and Smith said that winning the match ultimately came down to wanting to win more than their opponents.
“We are both very injured, so (we) just had to play to our strengths and get it done,” Smith said. “A lot of it came down to energy and wanting it more than they did.”
Coming off of a 4-2 loss against Long Beach State on April 7, Smith and Moinard knew that the team was going to be little bit down, but Smith said that the two take it upon themselves to fire everyone else up.
“Our personalities are more outgoing then some so, that’s just how people are different,” Smith said. “There is no bad in that, but we kind of accept that and then bring the energy and make sure that we are cheering other people other on as well as ourselves.”
Junior Magda Aubets and freshman Nnena Nadozie also were victorious in doubles for the Aztecs, defeating juniors Hanna Borjeson and Margarita Treyes (7-5).
SDSU would go on to receive wins in three of four finished singles matches, with senior Paolo Diaz, Moinard and Nadozie all coming away with individual wins to help clinch the overall team victory.
Head Coach Peter Mattera said that he was pleased with the way his team took advantage of its early lead against the Dons, one day after blowing a lead against Long Beach.
“With Long Beach on the rode… we did not do a great job with leads and not slamming the door shut,” Mattera said. “Today we did a better job slamming the door shut, which was one of my points of emphasis.”
The Aztecs failed to hold a 2-1 lead in singles against Long Beach, and have struggled at times this season to hold onto advantagees in their matches despite winning a total of 12 doubles points.
“When we get leads in games I feel that we are almost too nice,” Mattera said. “We need to really step up and bring it home.”
The Aztecs will wrap up their regular season with three consecutive Mountain West Conference clashes, in a tuneup for the conference tournament which is set to begin on April 26 in Boise, Idaho.
