After the Aggies were handed their first Big West Conference loss of the season Saturday, they rebounded on Sunday for a win.
Although the loss hampers UC Davis’ regular season title hopes, coach Bill Maze said the post-season tournament is the best time to peak, and that his team will be ready to face Cal Poly again.
“I have some good ideas for how to beat [the Mustangs] the next time we play them,” Maze explained. “We would like to have a chance to play them in the Big West Championships.”
Saturday – No. 44 Cal Poly 6, No. 66 UC Davis 1
For the second week in a row, a top-50 team proved to be too much for UC Davis women’s tennis.
The Cal Poly Mustangs now sit alone atop the Big West Conference, with UC Davis falling to second.
In a match that seemed to be much closer than the scores indicate, Cal Poly succeeded in all the key moments.
“Tennis is funny like that,” said coach Bill Maze. “It’s a game of big points.”
The Mustangs took the first point in the competition by winning the doubles contest in a third-set tiebreaker in the final match. According to Maze, there were plenty of tough singles matches too.
“It was a real battle, and we fought hard,” Maze said.
Kelly Chui was the only Aggie to win a point, downing her singles opponent in straight sets.
Dahra Zamudio and Megan Heneghan both played close three-set matches, though both ultimately lost. Zamudio won her first set 6-2 before falling in the final two, while Heneghan won the second set 6-0 after losing in the first. Unfortunately for Heneghan, she couldn’t win the decider.
Nicole Koehly, Lauren Curry and Melissa Kobayakawa lost their matches in straight sets.
Sunday – UC Davis 7, UC San Diego 0
The Aggies took care of business on Sunday and swept the UC San Diego Tritons, a Division II team that Maze didn’t want his team to overlook.
Overall, he was pleased with the effort.
“We are a team of competitors, and I’m proud of the way we showed up on Sunday,” Maze said.
The day started out with a strong UC Davis victory in the doubles competition, as the Aggies took two of the three matches.
In the singles competition UC Davis continued to show their class. Freshman Melissa Kobayawaka earned her first singles point for the Aggies since February by defeating her opponent 6-1, 6-3. Henegan, Chui, Koehly and Curry all won their matches in straight sets as well.
The final point of the day came from Zamudio, who held on to win despite dropping the second set.
The Aggies are back in action this weekend with home matches against UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside set for Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
CAELUM SHOVE can be reached at sports@theaggie.org
