Spring Break was anything but relaxing for the UCSB women’s tennis team. In home matches, the squad lost to UT Arlington and #11 Northwestern by scores of 6-1 and 4-0 before traveling to Texas for the weekend. There, the Gauchos lost to #33 SMU 6-1 in Dallas before beating UTEP 7-0 in Denton yesterday. After the week’s action, the team now stands at 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the Big West.

[media-credit id=20120 align=”alignright” width=”166″][/media-credit]In Saturday’s loss to SMU, freshman Kiersten Meehen earned UCSB’s only point at #6 singles. The team responded on Sunday with a sweep over UTEP, putting an end to their three-match losing streak. The Gauchos swept doubles before taking all but one of the singles matches in straight sets. Junior Sofia Novak needed three sets at #2, but eventually prevailed with 6-3, 0-6, 6-1. Sophomore Erica Cano won #6 singles 6-0, 6-1, improving her record to 3-0 in singles play this season.

UCSB moved up to #66 in the national rankings before its loss to Northwestern in a shortened match. Due to weather, doubles was not played and #2 and #5 singles were abandoned, with the Wildcats winning every completed match.

#72 Dartmouth made the journey to Santa Barbara from New Hampshire only to have the match rained out after just an hour of play. Only freshman Paola Cos’ match was completed before the day ended, winning the #5 singles 6-2, 6-0.

UT Arlington’s victory over the Gauchos ended UCSB’s four-match winning streak that started with a win over Long Beach State on March 5. The Mavericks swept the three doubles matches, and Cos provided the lone point for UCSB in the #5 singles match.

Going back to finals week of Winter Quarter, the Gauchos continued their success in the Big West, defeating Cal State Northridge 4-3 on March 12 and Cal State Fullerton 5-2 the next day. Against Fullerton, the only two matches that the Gauchos did not win were #1 and #3 singles, which were both decided by a tiebreaker. The match against Northridge provided a different challenge, with the Matadors sweeping doubles, forcing the Gauchos to win four of the six singles matches. This was accomplished thanks in part to juniors Natalia Lozano and Jordan Dockendorf’s three-set wins at #1 and #4 singles, respectively.

Next up for the Gauchos as they return home is today’s match against St. Mary’s, postponed from March 21 due to heavy rain. Match time is set for noon at Robertson Gym Courts.

Print