March 29, 2007
Up Next
The Bronco women's tennis team takes a short trip to San Francisco this weekend to play West Coast Conference rival, the San Francisco Dons. The match will be played on Sunday, April 1 at 11:00 a.m. at Golden Gate Park. The Broncos defeated the Dons in the last meeting between the teams, 4-3, with great three-set wins by Stephanie Galainena and Erika Barnes. The match marks the first of 11 matches in the first 22 days of April for the Broncos.
"We match up with San Francisco well," said head coach Ben Cabell. "This match is going to be tight throughout and it could go either way. A win could get us back in the race for a good seed in the conference tournament so we have to be ready to play."
The Broncos have been up and down in the past four matches, winning twice and losing two. The team sits just below the .500 mark after losses to Portland and Saint Mary's last week, but a win against the Dons would get SCU right back to .500.
"I think that we were a bit tired against Saint Mary's after putting everything into our match against Portland last Saturday," said Cabell. "We took a couple of days off this week to rest up so that we will be fresh for San Francicso."
The Broncos will once again be led this weekend by their trio of seniors, Casey Knutson, Erika Barnes and Kim Daniel. Barnes and Knutson continued to play well in doubles last weekend, earning a win versus Portland, while Daniel leads the team in dual match wins with seven.
"The seniors have been great all year," said Cabell. "Casey beat a very good No. 1 for Portland and also played a strong doubles match with Erika. Kim has been very steady for us all year and we will need her to play well again on Sunday."
Last Week
Santa Clara lost twice to conference foes last weekend to fall below the .500 mark for the season. On March 24, the Broncos dropped a tight match to the Portland Pilots 5-2. Casey Knutson and Erika Barnes teamed up for a win at No. 1 doubles, but SCU could not earn the doubles point. In singles, Knutson and Kim Daniel earned the points for SCU at No. 1 and No. 4 respectively. On March 25, the Broncos were swept 7-0 by No. 70 Saint Mary's for the second time this season. The Broncos fell to 5-6 with the loss.
Notes
Daniel Now Eighth Overall In Singles Wins
Kim Daniel posted the 48th win of her career on March 24 against Portland at No. 4 singles. With the win Daniel moved into a sole possession of eighth place all-time in singles wins. Casey Knutson matched Daniel's victory with one of her own against the Pilots to get to 47 wins. She is now tied for ninth with Mariko Kawakami (2000-03).
Barnes Streak Snapped
Senior Erika Barnes had her four-match winning streak in singles snapped with a loss to Portland's Anna Gullickson on March 24. She had not lost since Feb. 23 against USF. However, she has still teamed with Casey Knutson to win five of her past seven doubles matches.
Barnes Moving Up All-Time Doubles Leaderboard
Erika Barnes entered the 2007 dual season with 45 combined doubles wins in her career, placing her 10th all-time in program history in doubles wins. By winning seven matches so far this season, she has moved up to a tie for sixth place with 52 wins. She is tied with Lindsay Colker (1996-99) after her win alongside Casey Knutson against Portland on March 24.
Barnes and Knutson Near Top-10
The doubles tandem of Erika Barnes and Casey Knutson has proven to be one of the strengths for the Broncos this season. In the dual season, Barnes and Knutson have posted a 7-4 record in doubles and they now have 10 wins together this season. They are four wins away from tying four other doubles pairs for seventh all-time with 14 doubles wins in a singles season. For their careers, Barnes and Knutson have won 13 matches together, a number that puts them one behind two other pairs for 10th all-time in career doubles wins. Santa Clara has eight regular season matches remaining prior to the WCC Championships.
Daniel Leading Way
Senior Kim Daniel is now 7-2 in the dual season after splitting two matches last weekend. She defeated Jenna Tanzer of Portland 6-4, 6-4 to move to 7-1. But she lost the following day against Saint Mary's 6-1, 6-1 in her first match at No. 3 singles this season.
Last Match Against San Francisco
The Broncos earned a heart-stopping 4-3 win over the Dons in the last meeting between the two teams. Erika Barnes and Stephanie Galainena won matches seconds part to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 win. Both players won their matches 6-4 in the third set. Kim Daniel also won her singles match, while Casey Knutson and Barnes and Galainena and McBride won their doubles matches to secure the doubles point. Daniel earned a comfortable 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles.
Scouting San Francisco
The San Francisco Dons are 8-9 so far in 2007, but have been hot recently with five wins in their past six matches. The Dons won five matches in a row from March 11-24, beating San Diego (6-1), Montana (6-1), North Texas (5-1), Northern Colorado (6-1) and Portland (4-3). In their last match, USF fell 7-0 to Colorado.