Despite the loss, the team looks to finish their season on a high note
By Krista Hajjar — sports@theaggie.org
On Oct. 11, the UC Davis women’s tennis team traveled to Berkeley to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division I Northwest Regional Championships.
The first round of match-ups left the UC Davis Aggies with some highs and lows as two out of the five players advanced to the second round. Daisy Maunupau, a fourth-year cognitive science major, went up against the UC Berkeley California Golden Bears’ Mao Mushika in her first round. Maunupau put up a good fight, winning one game against her opponent. However, Mushika wouldn’t let up and won six games, taking the first set. The second set was an even tougher fight for Maunupau, who lost to Mushika again with a score of 0-6.
Similar results came about for Maya Youssef, a third-year undeclared major, who also competed during the invitational. She played against UC Berkeley’s Tiziana-Marie Schomburg, who took the win from Youssef. Schomburg took the first set, winning six games against Youssef’s one. Youssef didn’t quit in the second set as she went head to head with Schomburg again, but the second set ended with Schomburg winning six games to Youssef’s four.
The last loss for the Aggies in the first round was Isabella Bringas, a first-year undeclared major, up against Stanford University’s Valerie Glozman. Bringas faced her first loss against Glozman in the first set with a score of 0-6. She came back in the second set winning one game but ultimately lost to Glozman.
Not all of the UC Davis team members struck out in the first round — Mika Ikemori, a second-year psychology major, advanced to the second round after playing against the Eastern Washington University Eagles’ Isabella Foshee. Ikemori and Foshee were neck in neck in the first set until Ikemor broke the tie and took the first point. The win of the first set was short-lived as Foshee came back and snatched the second set, but Ikemori came back stronger in the third set and won with a score of 6-2.
Entering the second round, Ikemori went up against UC Berkeley’s Tiziana Marie Schomburg. She played a strong first set but ultimately lost the first with a score of 4-6. The second set didn’t work in her favor either as she lost to Schomburg again with a score of 6-0, knocking her out of the draw.
The last UC Davis player to play in the singles division and advance past the first round was Sofia Valentine, a first-year undeclared major, who went up against the University of Oregon’s Candela Aparisi. Valentine provided a strong performance and took the first set with a score of 6-0. Aparisi attempted a comeback to win the second set, but Valentine ultimately won again with a score of 6-0 and advanced to the next round.
The Aggies focused their attention on Valentine, their final player to play her second round. She went up against UC Berkeley’s Lan Mi and ultimately lost both sets with a score of 6-1 and 6-2, cutting her off from the draw as well.
While the Northwest Regional Championships didn’t go as planned, the UC Davis women’s tennis team is set to play again at the San José State University Hidden Duals, starting on Oct. 25. Despite their loss at this invitational, the UC Davis Aggies will aim to turn things around and come back with a victory.
By Krista Hajjar — sports@theaggie.org
