On a cold Monday afternoon, the women’s tennis team fought hard but couldn’t seem to close it out against the Pepperdine Waves, as they faced a 4-0 sweep. Due to the weather conditions, both teams agreed to play a clinch format that skipped over doubles play and declared that the first team to four points through the singles would win the match.
Following the Pepperdine match, the Dons bounced back as they secured a W against the Gonzaga Bulldogs 4-1 on Friday afternoon. Senior Rita Colyer and sophomore María Martínez Vaquero started the Dons’ streak with a 6-1 win, followed by junior Chiho Mushika and graduate student Mya Bui’s incomplete match ending with a 6-6 tie. The Dons finished the doubles matches strong with freshman Simran Chabra and senior Caragh Courtney securing the win for the Dons through the third match with a 6-4 final score. Martinez Vaquero, Coyler, and Bui then found wins through the singles, securing their victory against the Bulldogs.
The women’s beach volleyball team defeated the Sacramento State Hornets on a 3-2 comeback at the College of Marin. The first two matchups opened up with a 2-0 Hornets lead. The first included junior Orsula Staka and freshman Letizia Aquilino falling short in two rounds: 21-14 and 21-18. The second, with freshman Tanner Pemberton and senior Katie Wagstaff, was a close round, with both teams having back-and-forth action, and concluded with a 21-19 and 23-21 loss for USF. However, the Dons hit a huge turning point in the third matchup. Freshman Sophie Sydenham and sophomore Sara Denham secured the Don’s first victory in the game, with a 21-15 and 21-16 win. As the momentum shifted, the fourth matchup led towards a 2-2 match tie. Freshman Bruna Correa and Shyia Richardson defeated the Hornets with a 21-14 and 21-13 win that led towards the final matchup, and an automatic win for the Dons. As the Dons got back on the beach for their first midweek match, they secured their third victory of the season.
In the top of the first inning of the men’s baseball team’s double-header against the University of Oregon, sophomore Mario Demera put the Dons on the scoreboard with a center field hit, bringing the Dons to the first lead. However, the Ducks responded shortly after by ending the inning with 10 runs. The Dons were able to counter the Ducks by scoring three runs in the second inning. The Ducks walked sophomore Luke Keaschall, bringing freshman Zach Freeman to home plate, and Jordan Vujovich’s single to bring in junior Michael Campagna and senior Darius Foster led to a 4-10 Ducks lead. The Dons scored their fifth run once Keaschall brought in Foster again through a right field fly. The first game ended with a 15-5 blowout.
The second game of the doubleheader series led to overtime. The Dons once again struck first with a Vujovich homerun to right field that scored graduate student Kyle Knell, securing a 2-0 Dons lead. The Ducks responded with a couple runs in the third inning, making it a 2-2 score. Freeman brought Vujovich home with a hit, giving the Dons a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Ducks scored a game tying run to force extra innings. The Ducks then brought in the winning run through an infield single, concluding a Ducks 4-3 win in the 11th inning. In a visiting series against the Ducks, the Dons were swept in the doubleheader. The Dons will return home for a seven game home stand against the San Diego Toreros, beginning on Friday.
In a third straight win, the men’s tennis team beat the Brown University Bears 4-2. Starting off with sophomores Phuc Huynh and Nitzan Ricklis through a doubles match, they ended with a 7-5 win. To continue to broaden the doubles lead, junior Mitch Johnson and Nil Giraldez scored a win with the same score as the previous match: 7-5. The third matchup included freshman Nikola Kuraica spiking off a win and David Woodland with a 6-6 tie, which didn’t lead to a conclusion in that match. Huynh, Johnson, and Woodland then received wins in their singles, bringing the Dons to their final.
Women’s track and field faced two days of competition at Stanford and San Francisco State University on Friday and Saturday. Senior Gabriella Mace has broken the previous school record in the 400-meter hurdles and sophomore Julia Morales lowered her personal best during the 800-meter. The 100-meter run had sophomores Rayne Anwar and Evelyn How run through first and third place, with Anwar completing with a 12.18 run and How completing with a 12.72 run. Freshman Tatumn LaChapelle finished in second with a 12.52 run. In the women’s 1,500-m run, freshman Abby Pradere finished in the top five in fourth place with a 4:24.56 run, with Whitney Hessler finishing in the top 10, going through eighth place with a 4:33.73 run. In the women’s 5,000-meter run, sophomore Ruby Smee came in 15th place with a 16:01 run and senior Fian Sullivan-Sweeney fell to 21st place with a 17:12 run. The 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles went to Mace, coming in 15th place with a 15.35 run and leading towards breaking her previous school record, coming in second place with a 61.52 run.
