SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Taking four individual singles victories from its opponent, the No. 71 Santa Clara women's tennis team added a 4-3 win over cross-town rival San Jose State to its impressive four-match winning streak on Sat., March 8. The Broncos head back to the Mission Campus to host No. 30 Texas Tech on Sun., March 9 at 2 p.m.
Santa Clara improved to 6-3 overall for the dual season after its hard-earned battle on the Spartans' surface. The Broncos are 2-0 at home, 2-2 on the road, and 2-1 in neutral locations.
The Broncos faced a challenging opponent in San Jose State, but emerged victorious in the tightly-contested matchup. The Spartans (5-9) started off strong on their home courts, seizing the doubles point with two tight wins on court two and three. The sophomore duo of Chelby Cooke and Delphine Rouvillois could not edge Julianna Bacelar and Jessica Willett on court two and fell 8-6. San Jose snapped Cooke and Rouvillois's three-match winning streak.
The Bronco partnership of Daniella Silva and Katie Le tallied the lone doubles victory for Santa Clara over Sabastiani Leon Chao and Gaelle Rey of San Jose State by a score of 8-7. Silva and Le improve their dual record to 12-7 on the season performing consistently at the No. 1 position.
The third and final doubles match ended in the Spartan's favor with the win over Bronco partners Stephanie Skaras and Nicolette Wolny, 8-6. This is the first time Santa Clara has not captured the doubles point in the past six matches.
On the singles side, Santa Clara focused on converting four out of the six matches to take the day's win. No. 25 Le had a commanding win over Marie Klocker on court one by a score of 6-4, 6-1. The Bronco senior has not lost a match since Feb. 14 and stands with a 6-1 record in her final dual season.
Skaras tallied the next victory for Santa Clara with her three-set triumph over Willett at the No. 5 spot. Skaras got off to a slow start, dropping the first set 2-6. Determined, the senior battled back in the second, 6-3, and held on in the third, 7-5, to close out the match. Skaras has won three out of her last four individual matches.
With San Jose's two added singles victories, the Broncos buckled down to turn the match around with two long three-set victories on the remaining courts. Freshman Silva dropped her first set to opponent Bacelar, 1-6, but came back all guns blazing in the second set, 6-3. The Vancouver, Canada native carried that momentum over to take the third set, 7-5.
With the match score tied 3-3, Wolny was able to be the hero for the Broncos on Saturday afternoon. The junior won a hard earned first set over Tipper Truong of San Jose State by a score of 7-6. Wolny fell in the second, 1-6, and Truong forced the match into a third set. The finesse and stamina of the Bronco proved to be too much for the Spartan, and Wolny took the third set, 7-6, capturing the win for Santa Clara.
Santa Clara hosts No. 30 Texas Tech (9-5) on Sun., March 9 at 2 p.m. after the No. 43 Santa Clara men's tennis team squares off against St. John's of New York at 10 a.m. in the Degheri Tennis Center.
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No. 71 Santa Clara 4, San Jose State 3
March 8 | Spartan Tennis Center | San Jose, Calif.
Singles | Order of finish: 1, 2, 5, 3, 4, 6
1) #25 Katie Le (SCU) def. Marie Klocker (SJSU) 6-4, 6-1
2) Sabastiani Leon Chao (SJSU) def. Chelby Cooke (SCU) 6-3, 6-2
3) Gaelle Rey (SJSU) def. Delphine Rouvillois (SCU) 6-7, 6-1, 6-1
4) Daniella Silva (SCU) def. Julianna Bacelar (SJSU) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
5) Stephanie Skaras (SCU) def. Jessica Willett (SJSU) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
6) Nicolette Wolny (SCU) def. Tipper Truong (SJSU) 7-6, 1-6, 7-6
Doubles | Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
1) Le / Silva (SCU) def. Leon Chao / Rey (SJSU) 8-7
2) Bacelar / Willett (SJSU) def. Cooke / Rouvillois (SCU) 8-6
3) Klocker / Justine Deleval (SJSU) def. Skaras / Wolny (SCU) 8-6
GO BRONCOS!
