SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Playing in its fifth straight match on the road, the No. 63 Santa Clara women's tennis team was edged by the Fresno State Bulldogs in a tight 4-3 decision. The Broncos clinched the doubles point with two solid victories but were unable to convert the needed three singles matches against the Bulldogs. The Broncos (2-3) stay in Fresno, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 22 to face Boise State at 11 a.m.
Against the Bulldogs (3-7) on Friday, Santa Clara rode several clutch performances in the start to take the doubles point. Partners Stephanie Skaras and Nicolette Wolny earned a win, 8-3, at No. 3 over Sofya Malysheva and Tanya Murtagh. Bronco duo Chelby Cooke and Delphine Rouvillois fell to Anneka Watts and Sophie Watts, 8-2, but Katie Le and Daniella Silva captured a 8-6 win on court one to send Santa Clara one up going into the singles matches.
On the singles side, Fresno State was able to take the lead with three individual victories. Santa Clara freshman Silva fell to Aishwarya Agrawal on court three by a score of 6-0, 6-2. At the No. 2 position, Cooke was defeated by Rana Sherif Ahmed, 6-2, 6-2. Bronco senior Skaras was topped in two-sets by Malysheva by a score of 6-4, 6-2.
With the match score in the Bulldogs favor 3-1, the Broncos fired back with two hard-earned singles victories. No. 28 Le went up against No. 41 Sophie Watts on court one where Watts went up in the first-set, 6-4. Le showed her seniority experience by taking the second-set, 6-1. The third set went into an exciting tiebreaker ending in Le's favor over her ranked-opponent, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3). Le's overall singles record now tallies 14-4 for the 2013-14 season.
On court five, sophomore Rouvillois is riding high off of her deciding match victory last weekend over Cal Poly's Kathryn Webb. Against Anneka Watts of the Bulldogs, Rouvillois swept her opponent in two-sets, 6-2, 6-2, to send the match score into a 3-3 tie.
The day's events would be decided on the outcome of court six. Santa Clara's Nicolette Wolny took the first-set against Claire Yang, 6-2. Yang fired back on her home courts in the second-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-4). In the third, the Bulldog proved too much for junior Wolny and took the deciding set and team match victory, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
The Broncos now take on Boise State on Sat., Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. Check back into SantaClaraBroncos.com for all your women's tennis updates and news.
Fresno State 4, #63 Santa Clara 3
Doubles
1) Katie Le/Daniella Silva (SC) def. Rana Sherif Ahmed/Aishwarya Agrawal (FS) 8-6
2) Anneka Watts/Sophie Watts (FS) def. Chelby Cooke/Delphine Rouvillois (SC) 8-2
3) Stephanie Skaras/Nicolette Wolny (SC) def. Sofya Malysheva/Tanya Murtagh (FS) 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1) #28 Katie Le (SC) def. #41 Sophie Watts (FS) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
2) Rana Sherif Ahmed (FS) def. Chelby Cooke (SC) 6-2, 6-2
3) Aishwarya Agrawal (FS) def. Daniella Silva (SC) 6-0, 6-2
4) Delphine Rouvillois (SC) def. Anneka Watts (FS) 6-2, 6-2
5) Sofya Malysheva (FS) def. Stephanie Skaras (SC) 6-4, 6-2
6) Claire Yang (FS) def. Nicolette Wolny (SC) 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 5, 4, 1, 6
GO BRONCOS!
