The SDSU Fall Classic II came to a close on Nov. 10 at the Aztec Tennis Center, as the Aztecs wrapped up the competition with a strong showing in the singles portion.
Head coach Peter Mattera said he was proud of his team’s efforts and said the lessons learned throughout the tournament are important for the future.
“I think this tournament has been good for us to see the things that we can continue to work on,” Mattera said. “Overall, it reaffirms my strong belief that we have the makings of a good team.”
Despite putting up a strong fight, junior Nnena Nadozie and sophomore Alicia Melosch fell in the Red draw championship to Stanford sophomore Niluka Madurawe and freshman Nicole Mossmer by a score of 2-6.
The Black draw championship saw sophomore Agustina Rimoldi Godoy and freshman Cécile Morin fall to Denver junior Hada Chang and sophomore Taylor Melville 1-6.
In the White draw, Denver juniors Anna Riedmiller and Camille Verde-Anderson toppled the SDSU duo of junior Tamara Arnold and freshman Julia Jordan by a 3-6 score.
However, the Scarlet and Black rebounded in their singles matches, winning five out of eight games played.
In the White draw, Nadozie rebounded from her loss in doubles to win her lone singles match against Riedmiller with a 6-2, 6-1 win. The same draw saw Morin grind out a 5-7, 6-0, 10-7 victory against Melville.
Closing out the White draw was Arnold, who defeated Madurawe 6-4, 7-6 to win her match while senior Mia Smith secured the sweep with a 6-3, 4-6, 11-9 of East Washington’s Zoey Nelson.
Despite losing in her doubles match, Nadozie put it behind her when it came time to transition to her singles match.
“It’s a pretty simple transition if you really focus on… seeing what you did right, seeing what you did wrong,” Nadozie said. “That’s what I did, I just put that behind me and focused on my singles.”
The other SDSU singles victory come courtesy of Rimoldi Godoy in the Black draw, who downed UC Irvine junior Flora Amiri 1-6, 6-0, 10-3.
The Fall Classic saw strong performances from freshmen Arnold and Morin, who are playing in their first season at SDSU. Morin, a native of Bouce-Bel-Air, France, said her teammates have helped her adapt.
“It is very different,” Morin said on how tennis plays in the United States versus Europe. “My teammates are so good and they help me with the language.”
SDSU will now go on a two-month hiatus until its next competition. In the winter, the Aztecs will compete with other schools in school-vs-school play, starting with UC Riverside on Jan 25.
Jason Freund is a junior studying journalism. Follow him on Twitter @jason _frings.
