SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After waiting out two rain delays, the No. 64 Santa Clara women's tennis team came out with the win over UC Santa Barbara, 4-3, in the Degheri Tennis Center on Sunday. Beginning the day's events at 2:30 p.m. with the singles competition, the Broncos tallied three individual victories and then closed out the match with a strong team showing on the doubles side.
The team will take on cross-town rival San Jose State on Sat., March 8 at 12 pm in the Broncos next match.
"I'm feeling so proud of my Broncos right now," said an emotional Nicolette Wolny. "Stephanie played so hard in a tough singles match and then came out with me in doubles, and I wouldn't want to play with anyone else. It was a really long day and we stayed tough to pull out the win. We persevered and did what we wanted to do. Our confidence is great. If we can do this, we can do anything."
Santa Clara got on the board early with a commanding win from Delphine Rouvillois on court three. The sophomore took the first set from UC Santa Barbara's Stacy Yam, 6-1, and then took over the second set, 6-0. Rouvillois improves her winning streak to five singles matches in a row. Her dual singles record is 6-2 this season.
Next off the courts was the No. 25 player in the country, Katie Le. The senior also breezed through her individual match with a 6-2, 6-1 win over April Scatliffe on court one. Le improves her dual singles record to 5-1.
In order to end the day early without having to compete in doubles, Santa Clara had to win at least two out of the remaining three singles matches, but the Broncos could only successfully convert one. Wolny battled hard against the Gauchos' Luisa Ortiz Candido on court six, taking the first set with a 7-6 decision. The junior posted the third win of the day for the Broncos with a second set score of 6-4.
Stephanie Skaras was the last Bronco off the courts for singles on Sunday. The senior held the lead in the first set, 7-5, but could not keep the momentum in the second, falling 6-1. The third set went back and forth and would be decided in a tiebreaker. Freshman Jaimee Gilberston proved too much for Skaras and won the best of seven tiebreaker 7-4.
Skaras held her head high going into the doubles competition and teamed up with Wolny on court three. The Bronco duo defeated Stacy Yam and Melissa Baker of the Gauchos by a score of 8-4. Rouvillois and partner Chelby Cooke ended the day's events with their win on court two over Gilberston and Candido, 8-3.
Santa Clara continues to be successful in doubles this season. Now the team has captured the doubles point four times in the last five matches.
The No. 64 Broncos improve to 5-3 overall for the dual season. The team is 2-0 at home, 1-2 on the road, and 2-1 at neutral sites. With this win over UC Santa Barbara, Santa Clara extends its winning streak to three.
The Broncos continue nonconference play on Sat., March 8 at 12 p.m. against San Jose State. Check back into SantaClaraBroncos.com daily for all your women's tennis news, updates, and more!
No. 64 Santa Clara 4, UC Santa Barbara 3
March 2 | Degheri Tennis Center | Santa Clara, Calif.
Singles | Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 4, 6, 5
1) #25 Katie Le (SCU) def. April Scatliffe (UCSB) 6-2, 6-1
2) Kaiulani Boyer (UCSB) def. Chelby Cooke (SCU) 6-3, 6-3
3) Delphine Rouvillois (SCU) def. Stacy Yam (UCSB) 6-1, 6-0
4) Paola Cos (UCSB) def. Daniella Silva (SCU) 6-3, 6-4
5) Jaimee Gilberston (UCSB) def. Stephanie Skaras (SCU) 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(4)
6) Nicolette Wolny (SCU) def. Luisa Ortiz Candido (UCSB) 7-6, 6-4
Doubles | Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
1) Le/Silva (SCU) vs. Scatliffe/Priscilla Garcia (UCSB) 6-7 DNF
2) Cooke/Rouvillois (SCU) def. Gilberston/Candido (UCSB) 8-3
3) Skaras/Wolny (SCU) def. Yam/Melissa Baker (UCSB) 8-4
GO BRONCOS!
