April 10, 2011
Stockton, Calif. -
The Tigers played as best as they could against No. 64 UCSB, and after a drawn out battle, the Tigers reigned supreme with a final score 4-3. The match was heated from the start, the Tigers felt the pressure after having lost two of the doubles matches yielding the doubles point win to the Gauchos and knowing full well that they would have to compete solidly in the singles events.
As the singles matches got underway. The Tigers appeared to start off on solid footing, showing promise to clinch the win. However, the Gauchos weren't far behind. They too kept fighting and were determined to stay in the running. Jenifer Widjaja was the first Tiger to win her match, and she did so with a confident two sets dominating the court against Sofia Novak to earn a final score of 6-2, 6-0. Then Shabby Eslami joined Jenifer with a solid two set win, 6-3, 6-2, against Paola Cos. The game count was now 2-1 in favor of the Tigers.
Then the Gauchos came back to win the next two singles at the no. 3 and 5 spot which brought the game count to 3-2 in favor of the Gauchos. The pressure was on and now the No. 2 and No. 6 singles were in their third set. Then Tiger Julia Hansen defeated her opponent after starting the third set 4-1 in favor of opponent Natalia Lozano. Julia came back to win that set 7-6 in the tiebreaker. Hansen was also down a double match point in the tiebreaker 4-6, but she pushed on and ended up winning the match with a tiebreaker score of 11-9. The win was no less than an emotional victory.
When asked about her match, Julia Hansen stated, "My match was really tough today. In the first set, I pressured her a lot and stayed in good control of the point. The second set was tied; she cut her unforced errors and became more active. I lost the set 3-6. The third set was a battle. I was down 1-4; however, I never gave up fighting. I had a great comeback and was up 5-4 and 6-5 but I could not serve out the match. In the tiebreaker, she had two match points, but I was able to win 11-9. Overall, it was a great battle today. I put all my energy into this match to make our win for the team today possible."
Finally the match score was 3-3, and the final match was close to the end. Kateryna Nezhura was ahead in the third set and fellow Tigers stood courtside with eager eyes. They cheered loudly with each point won until the final point was decided, and when Kateryna proved victorious, the Tigers rushed onto her court and celebratory cheers signified the Tiger's victory against the Gauchos.
Match Results
Doubles:
1. Jenifer Widjaja / Julia Hansen (PAC) def. Lozano/Dockendorf (UCSB) 8-4
2. Novak/Murphy (UCSB) def. Shabby Eslami / Summer Irvin (PAC) 8-3
3. Damion/Neehan (UCSB) def. Olga Gumenyuk / Susan Te (PAC) 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*
Singles:
1. Jenifer Widjaja (PAC) def. Sofia Novak(UCSB) 6-2, 6-0
2. Julia Hansen def. Natalia Lozano (UCSB) 5-7, 6-0, 7-6 (9)
3. Jill Damion (UCSB) def. Olga Gumenyuk (PAC) 7-5, 0-6, 7-5
4. Shabby Eslami (PAC) def. Paola Cos (UCSB) 6-3, 6-2
5. Kiersten Meehan (UCSB) def. Susan Te (PAC) 7-5, 6-0
6. Kateryna Nezhura (PAC) def. Erica Cano (UCSB) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 4, 3, 5, 2, 6**
Final Score: Pacific 4, UCSB 3
*Denotes doubles wining point
**Denotes match securing win
