The Cal Poly women’s tennis team suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Saint Mary’s on Wednesday.
The teams were tied at three when the match came down to No. 4 singles. Junior Diane Filip fell in a dramatic, closely-contested match to Sabina Gunnarsson 5-7, 6-7 (8), giving the Gaels the win.
“She played way better today,” Filip said of her opponent. “She was getting every ball back.”
All the other matches were completed by the time Filip’s match came down to the wire, and fellow players and fans alike crowded the court to watch the nail-biting, game-clinching match.
“I didn’t feel any pressure out there. I was actually enjoying the moment (with) so many people out there,” Filip said. “It was a tough battle out there and I’m happy the way I played.”
Cal Poly lost despite sweeping all three doubles matches and winning two of the six singles.
The Mustangs were led by the play of junior Suzie Matzenauer (12-6) who won No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles defeating Anna Chikhikvishvili.
“I just tried to play my game,” Matzenauer said. “I started off really strong and I just had to make sure that I was the one who dictated the play.”
Joining Matzenauer in doubles was sophomore Amy Markhoff who helped propel the tandem to an 8-0 win.
The No. 2 doubles team of junior Steffi Wong and junior Brittany Blalock and the No. 3 doubles team of Filip and senior Maria Malec won their matches 8-6 and 8-5, respectively.
“Right from the beginning of the match we just started really aggressive,” Matzenauer said. “We dominated from the first point to the last.”
Cal Poly head coach Hugh Bream said he knew the Mustangs were in for a hard-fought battle against a deep team from the beginning.
“We knew Saint Mary’s was a really tough team,” Bream said. “They were tough at the top and all the way through.”
Saint Mary’s furious comeback was due to their strong singles play. Leading the team at No. 1 singles was Alexandra Poorta, ranked No. 66 in the nation. She squeezed out a pair of breaks against Blalock to win 6-4, 6-4. Also winning for the Gaels in singles was Claire Soper who defeated Whitney Peterson 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 and Marah Calvo who beat Shannon Brady 6-3, 6-4.
Despite the loss the Mustangs feel that some good will come out of such a tough loss.
“We can definitely learn a lot from this match.” Filip said. “We’re gonna come out strong tomorrow.”
Bream echoed the sentiment.
“We did so many things right today, a big part of us doing well at the Big West (tournament) is just being really tough and resilient,” he said.
The team has its last home match against Oregon today at 11 a.m. Seniors Shannon Brady, Maria Malec and Whitney Peterson hope to say farewell on a good note.
“We knew Saint Mary’s was a really tough team,” Bream said. “They were tough at the top and all the way through.”
Saint Mary’s furious comeback was due to their strong singles play. Leading the team at No. 1 singles was Alexandra Poorta, ranked No. 66 in the nation. She squeezed out a pair of breaks against Blalock to win 6-4, 6-4. Also winning for the Gaels in singles was Claire Soper who defeated Whitney Peterson 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 and Marah Calvo who beat Shannon Brady 6-3, 6-4.
Despite the loss the Mustangs feel that some good will come out of such a tough loss.
“We can definitely learn a lot from this match.” Filip said. “We’re gonna come out strong tomorrow.”
Bream echoed the sentiment.
“We did so many things right today, a big part of us doing well at the Big West (tournament) is just being really tough and resilient,” he said.
The team has its last home match against Oregon today at 11 a.m. Seniors Shannon Brady, Maria Malec and Whitney Peterson hope to say farewell on a good note.