April 23, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif.- For the Santa Clara women's tennis team, last weekend's performance at the WCC Tournament in San Diego was a struggle after a very promising season. The Broncos entered the tournament with the sixth seed and finished in seventh place in the WCC, winning their final match against Gonzaga, 4-1.
The Broncos finished the regular season with an overall 8-10 record and entered the tournament with a 2-3 record in the WCC, capturing the sixth seed.
"We felt very good about our regular season," said Bronco head coach Ben Cabell "We felt that we beat the teams that we needed to beat to enter the tournament with a decent seed. We had some bad luck with rain for the USF and Loyola Marymount matches which could have helped with a higher seed, but overall we felt pretty good about where we were coming in."
In the first round, the Broncos were shut out by Saint Mary's, 4-0. The Broncos were shut out by the Gaels a few weeks before the tournament on April 5th. "Saint Mary's is a very tough team," said Cabell. "We played well in a few spots, but it was just not enough to beat them. From that match we learned about the things that we need to get better at for next season."
For the second round against Portland, the team hoped to once again be on top after last's year's 4-3 upset over the Pilots. Instead, the Broncos were dealt a tough 4-3 loss by the Pilots, ending their chances of advancing to a higher finish in the WCC.
In Cabell's words, the close loss to Portland was a tough day. "Our No. 4 and No. 5 players were not feeling 100% and we really count on them to close out strong. Obviously if we're not at 100% it's going to be a tight match, and that's exactly what happened unfortunately."
After two consecutive losses, the Broncos were ready to put all of their energy into a final win against Gonzaga. In doubles, freshmen duo Kacie Wagner and Kimmi Cox pulled out an 8-4 win against Gonzaga's Madeline Edson-White and Claire Dodge. In singles, sophomore Carmen Pham battled against Kristina Zauere in a thrilling 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
"Carmen had a tremendous match against Gonzaga," said Cabell. "We played well at doubles and it was a good match after Saturday's tough loss."
While the Broncos may not have achieved their goal of earning a fourth place finish in the WCC, Cabell is very optimistic about the team's future. "I'm very excited about next year. We've got some great players coming in, so we're definitely going to go for it next year."
WCC Tournament Results (April 17-19)
DAY 1 (April 17, 2009)
NO. 3 SAINT MARY'S - 4
NO. 6 SANTA CLARA - 0
Doubles
1. Poorta/Soper (SMC) def. Galainena/Pane (SCU) 8-5
2. Strijbis/Chikhikvishvili (SMC) def. Davoudi/Pham (SCU) 8-4
3. Young/Aloia (SMC) vs. Wagner/Cox (SCU) - DNF
Singles
1. Poorta (SMC) vs. Galainena (SCU) DNF
2. Chikhikvishvili (SMC) vs. Wagner (SCU) DNF
3. Soper (SMC) def. Pham (SCU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Gunnarsson (SMC) vs. Davoudi (SCU) DNF
5. Strijbis (SMC) def. Pane (SCU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Young (SMC) def. Hull (SCU) 6-0, 3-0
DAY 2 (April 18, 2009)
NO. 6 SANTA CLARA - 3
NO. 7 PORTLAND - 4
Doubles
1. Sporndli/Pflibsen (POR) def. Galainena/Pane (SCU) 8-0
2. Davoudi/Pham (SCU) def. Tanzer/Doolittle (POR) 8-4
3. Wagner/Cox (SCU) def. Gullickson/Fuchs (POR) 8-3
Singles
1. Pflibsen (POR) def. Galainena (SCU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Sporndli (POR) def. Wagner (SCU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Pham (SCU) def. Tanzer (POR) 7-5, 6-0
4. Fuchs (POR) def. Davoudi (SCU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
5. Doolittle (POR) def. Pane (SCU) 7-6, 6-1
6. Hoy (SCU) def. Gullickson (POR) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
DAY 3 (April 19, 2009)
NO. 6 SANTA CLARA - 4
NO. 8 GONZAGA - 1
Doubles
1. Galainena/Pane (SCU) vs. Kokurina/Zavere (GON) DNF
2. Mehndiratta/Farmer (SCU) def. Mehndiratta/Farmer (GON) 8-3
3. Wagnewr/Cox (SCU) vs. Dodge/Edson-White (GON) 8-4
Singles
1. Galainena (SCU) vs. Kokurina (GON) DNF
2. Mehndiratta (GON) def. Wagner (SCU) 6-2, 6-0
3. Pham (SCU) def. Zauere (GON) 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
4. Davoudi (SCU) vs. Dodge (GON) DNF
5. Pane (SCU) def. Farmer (GON) 6-0, 6-2
6. Hoy (SCU) def. Edson-White (GON) 6-4, 6-4
