SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Coming off of a hard-earned 4-3 win over UC Santa Barbara this past weekend, the No. 71 Santa Clara women's tennis team looks to continue its three-match winning streak at San Jose State on Sat., March 8 at 12 p.m. The Broncos return to the Mission campus on Sun., March 9 at 2 p.m. to take on No. 30 Texas Tech.
Santa Clara improved to 5-3 overall for the dual season after its inspiring victory at home on Sunday battling two-rain delays and one cancellation. The Broncos are 2-0 at home, 1-2 on the road, and 2-1 on neutral surfaces. The team has captured the doubles point five times in the last six matches.
"The doubles point has been really important for our team this season," said senior Katie Le. "Not only does it give us an early one-point advantage over our opponent, but it raises our confidence going into singles. Once again, this will be key to topping San Jose State on their courts this Saturday."
The doubles teams have proved to be a dominating power so far this dual season for the Broncos. Playing at the No. 1 position, partners Daniella Silva and Le are 11-7 overall. Chelby Cooke and Delphine Rouvillois at the No. 2 spot and Stephanie Skaras and Nicolette Wolny at the No. 3 position are all coming off of commanding wins over the UCSB Gauchos.
The Broncos will face their the fourth-ranked opponent with No. 30 Texas Tech on Sunday. "All of their players are solid down the line, but it doesn't mean that they are unbeatable in any spot," said Le.
Le moved up three spots in the ITA singles ranking on Feb. 25 to No. 25. In addition, Le sits at No. 8 in the Northwest regional rankings. She is 5-1 in duals with two additional individual matches going unfinished and playing consistently in the No. 1 spot in both singles and doubles. She posts a 16-4 overall singles record and was named to the 2014 All-WCC Preseason Team on Jan. 28 along with five other women.
Another notable singles streak comes from sophomore Delphine Rouvillois. Playing consistently at the No. 3 spot, Rouvillois took the first set from UC Santa Barbara's Stacy Yam, 6-1, and then blanked her opponent in the second set, 6-0. The Grenoble, France native improves her winning streak to five singles matches in a row. Her dual singles record is 6-2 this season.
These two matches against the Spartans and the Raiders will mark the end of non-conference play for the Broncos this season and lead them into the heart of West Coast Conference competition for the rest of March and throughout April.
San Jose State
The San José State University women's tennis team won its third dual match in a row after defeating UC Santa Barbara 4-3. In doubles, The Spartans (5-8) won in the first and second set to give San José State a 1-0 lead over UC Santa Barbara (2-8). In singles, freshman Marie Klocker clinched the win for San José State after defeating Scatliffe in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6.
The Spartans post a 5-8 overall dual record this season with a perfect 4-0 record at home. San Jose is 0-4 against ranked-opponents.
Last Year Against the Spartans
Despite taking the doubles point, the Broncos fell 4-3 to the Spartans on Feb. 9, 2013, dropping their first home match of that season. The win gave San Jose its first victory over Santa Clara in 15 duals dating back to 1998.
In doubles, the No. 1 duo for Santa Clara, Katie Le and Jessica Agra topped Erica Medlin and Sabastiani Leon Chao of San Jose State 8-3. To capture the doubles point, Stephanie Skaras and Delphine Rouvillois tallied their third straight win as a duo this season at the No. 3 spot by defeating Jessica Willett and Julianna Bacelar 8-6.
Then-No. 26 Le added her second loss of the 2013 dual season to Klaudia Boczova in a third set tiebreaker. After falling in the first set 6-2, Le battled through two difficult sets. Le won the second 7-5 and went 6-6 in the third. The final set was decided by a tiebreaker that ended in Boczova's favor 7-1.
Texas Tech
The No. 30 Raiders are currently on a three-match losing streak and post a 9-4 overall dual record. Texas Teach is 3-1 on the road and 1-3 on neutral surfaces. They are recently coming off a 6-1 loss against conference opponent No. 18 Baylor. The Raiders have been ranked as high as No. 18 this year with notable wins over then-No. 25 Nebraska, then-No. 43 William & Mary, and then-No. 36 Yale.
For the third time in five years, Texas Tech boasts a Top 20 recruiting class, according to TennisRecruting.net. Senior Nikki Sanders is ranked No. 112 in singles, while the doubles tandem of Kenna Kilgo and Samantha Adams is ranked at No. 31.
The Raiders take on No. 54 Saint Mary's on Fri., March 7 before heading to Santa Clara.
Game Notes:
March 8, 2014
#71 Santa Clara vs. San Jose State @ 12:00 p.m. in San Jose, Calif. (Spartans Tennis Complex)
March 9, 2014
#30 Texas Tech vs. #71 Santa Clara @ 2:00 p.m. in Santa Clara, Calif. (Degheri Tennis Center)
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