Over the weekend, the women’s tennis team posted a 1-1 record, winning their match over long time rival Santa Clara 6-1 on Friday before they lost a tough match against number 65th Nevada 4-3 on Saturday. These games signify the end of their regular season in which they posted a 9-8 overall record and a 3-2 record in the WCC, where they finished 2nd in the league.
Against Santa Clara, the Dons rallied back from a 1-0 deficit, after they lost two out of their three doubles matches. The only doubles win came from the duo of Cecilia Gratian and Jennifer-Lee Heisner, who beat Santa Clara’s team of senior Stephanie Galainena and sophomore Ashley Pane 8-4. After failing behind 1-0 because the other doubles teams had lost, the Dons swept the singles matches. Number 60 ranked Heisner won her number one match handily as she defeated Galainena 6-0, 6-1. Mylene Martin also easily won her match against Kacie Wagner 6-0, 6-3. The Dons won the rest of the singles matches and this led them to their 6-1 win over Santa Clara.
On Saturday the Dons lost a tough battle against number 65th ranked University of Nevada. Nevada also won two or the three doubles matches against USF. With these two victories, Nevada had a 1-0 lead. Unlike their match against Santa Clara, USF was not able to sweep the singles matches to triumph for the victory. USF split the singles matches against Nevada, which gave the Wolf pack the 4-3 victory. Against a ranked opponent the Dons played well, narrowly losing the match.
With the conclusion of the season the Lady Dons will look to play well in the WCC tournament, which starts April 17 and goes through April 19. With the 1-1 finish the Dons finished the year on a good note, especially because they barely lost their last contest. In fact they had a strong chance to win the match but they could not prevail. The Dons will open the tournament as the number two seed. Hopefully the seeding will give the Dons an advantage in the tournament. A win in the tournament would be a great end to a successful season. With only two players leaving from the current team, seniors Mylee Martin and Sarah Oudomvilay, the young Dons look promising for next year. The whole team consists of underclassmen, three sophomores and three freshmen. Watch out for the Lady Dons next year, as this young, talented team continues to grow.
Tennis is the greatest sport to me. It can be played indoors or out thus making it a year round sport. Any age group can be play tennis and it provides a great workout.