The Aggies had to lose eventually.
Yet starting a losing streak with the Big West Conference Tournament just two weeks away wasn’t a top priority for coach Bill Maze.
Still, Maze said the team is right where it needs to be at this point in the season.
“We’re learning from the experiences,” he said. “We’re making progress. I feel we’ve prepared the best we could.”
Maze, however, views UC Davis’ (9-9) latest loss to Pacific as a step back. Last Saturday’s 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Tigers moved the Aggies to 2-4 in conference play with a final home match before the tournament.
“We try to play on even keel,” Maze said. “It’s a little tougher losing to conference opponents, though.”
The Aggies were only able to collect one win from the entire team. Ellie Edles earned the singles victory 6-2, 7-6(6) at No. 5.
“She played aggressively and really hit the ball well,” Maze said. “She’s been hitting well recently.”
On the other hand, the doubles for the Aggies had a setback against the Tigers after such a long stretch of effective team chemistry and consistency. Maze said he thought their play was the exception and not the rule.
“We definitely didn’t play well in doubles,” Maze said. “I was disappointed, but we cannot be good everyday.
The closest doubles match was from Edles and Dahra Zamudio, who lost 8-7 to their Pacific opponent.
The Aggies were defeated at doubles No. 1 and 3, 8-2 and 8-1, respectively.
Desiree Stone was unable to earn a singles win and has now lost in back-to-back matches for the first time since returning from injury.
She was beaten in her match by No. 91 nationally ranked Jennifer Widjaja 6-2, 6-1.
The best singles match against the Tigers came from Zamudio. She fell behind early, but battled her way back for a close defeat that ended after a long final set. She was defeated 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (16-14).
Lauren Curry put up a hard fight against her Pacific opponent before surrendering a 6-3, 7-6 loss.
The team’s top singles players, Stone and Brady, haven’t picked up a win since they played Portland at the beginning of the month. Brady lost to her opponent 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday.
Brady still leads the team with 11 wins, but by earning her 10th win against Cal State Northridge, Zamudio currently shares second place with Edles.
The Aggies matchup with Santa Clara was cancelled due to rain and a future date couldn’t be set because of scheduling conflicts.
Maze had hoped to have one last road test after such an extended homestand where the Aggies went 6-1.
“We tried to reschedule, but couldn’t get it done,” he said. “It was too bad because [the Broncos] are one of the better rivalries we have.”
Maze and his team will have to wait until the home finale against UC Irvine to end their uncharacteristic late-season losing streak. The match against the Anteaters is this Saturday at 11 a.m.
MARCOS RODRIGUEZ can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
