LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Santa Clara women's tennis team collected another conference win in the first of its two Southern California matches of the week, eliminating the Loyola Marymount Lions 5-2. With the win, the Broncos improve to 2-2 in WCC and 6-7 overall.
Bronco head coach Ben Cabell had praise for the whole team, saying, "It was a really good effort today. LMU is a tough team; this was a good win for us and I'm very proud of everybody."
Picking up this win once again started with the strength of Santa Clara's doubles play. Nabila Farah and Daniella Silva shut out Ellie Grossman and Lisa Piller 6-0, which set up Chelby Cooke and Delphine Rouvillois to clinch the doubles point on court 2 with their 6-3 win over Anna Romeka and Jessica Perez.
"These were great doubles matches," said junior Delphine Rouvillois. "It was awesome to watch the whole team fighting hard and battling."
With the Broncos up 1-0, the Lions roared back into the match in singles. Andrea Crespo ousted Farah at No. 2 singles 6-2, 6-0 to tie the match at one point apiece. Julia Norlin then beat Danielle Zinn 6-3, 6-1 for LMU to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
"LMU is a tough team, especially at their place," Rouvillois said. Cabell backed this up, adding, "Conference wins – especially on the road – are never easy."
Cooke was the initiator of the comeback, defeating Romeka 7-5, 6-4 to tie the match once again, this time at 2-2. Next, freshman Zeina El Tawil continued the Bronco push with a resurgent win over Grossman 6-3, 0-6, 6-0 on court 5.
"I have to give credit to Zeina and really to everyone. Our whole team played so hard," said Rouvillois.
With Santa Clara now leading 3-2, Silva came in to close the deal on court 4, taking down Kristine Kouyoumjian 6-4, 7-5 and sealing the match for the Broncos.
Rouvillois capped the win with a spirited performance of her own over Perez, earning the fifth point of the day for the Broncos 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(8).
"This win was so important for us going into the tournament," said Rouvillois. "It's so good to get these points. We're all very happy with the win."
With the loss, LMU falls to 3-16. Next up for Santa Clara is Pepperdine in Malibu on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Check back to SantaClaraBroncos.com for more news and updates.
Go Broncos!
Santa Clara 5, Loyola Marymount 2
Doubles | Order of Finish: 1, 2
1) Farah/Silva (SCU) def. Grossman/Piller (LMU) 6-0
2) Cooke/Rouvillois (SCU) def. Romeka/Perez (LMU) 6-3
3) El Tawil/Riley Morgan vs. Norlin/Crespo (LMU) 4-4, DNF
Singles | Order of Finish: 2, 6, 3, 5, 4, 1
1) Delphine Rouvillois (SCU) def. Jessica Perez (LMU) 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(8)
2) Andrea Crespo (LMU) def. Nabila Farah (SCU) 6-2, 6-0
3) Chelby Cooke (SCU) def. Anna Romeka (LMU) 7-5, 6-4
4) Daniella Silva (SCU) def. Kristine Kouyoumjian (LMU) 6-4, 7-5
5) Zeina El Tawil (SCU) def. Ellie Grossman (LMU) 6-3, 0-6, 6-0
6) Julia Norlin (LMU) def. Danielle Zinn (SCU) 6-3, 6-1
