UC Davis at Santa Clara
Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019
Noon
Deheri Tennis Center // Santa Clara, Calif.
Live Scores
DAVIS, Calif. — The Aggies improve to 2-2 in the Big West after coming from a 1-3 deficit to take down Cal Poly 4-3 at the Marya Welch Tennis Center on Saturday.
UC Davis won the doubles point for the fifth time this season to take the first point in the match against the Mustangs. Kelsie Bryant and Sara Tsukamoto picked up their third win this season at No. 1, defeating Emily Louie-Meadors and MacKenzie Worsnop 6-3. Nikita Pradeep and Shirley Hall clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Emily Ackerman and Caroline Williams at No. 2.
Cal Poly responded with wins at Nos. 5, 6, and 2 to take the overall lead 3-1, and needed just one more match to clinch the victory. However, UC Davis had won the first set on two of the remaining courts, and Pradeep fought back to win the second set on court 1, putting the match within reach for the Aggies.
For the second time in her career, Jessica Walker came from behind to defeat Cal Poly's Grace Olyphant, and remains the sole Aggie to claim a victory over the Cal Poly player over the last two years. In their last meeting, Walker came back after dropping the first set 4-6 before winning the fall tournament match 6-3, 6-2. This time, Walker closed the first set 6-3, but Olyphant would jump out to a 3-0 lead to start the second. Walker, however, maintained composure, and kicked off an Aggie comeback with her 6-4 second set, and match, victory.
Pradeep faced a comeback of her own against Louie-Meadors at the No. 1 position, dropping the first set 6-3, before storming back for a 6-1, 6-1 victory. This marks her sixth consecutive victory, and puts her 4-0 in conference play at the top spot in the lineup.
With the match tied at 3-3, all eyes fell on court 3, where Hall was locked in a battle with Worsnop — a player who competed at No. 1 singles most of the 2018 season. Hall claimed the first set in a dominant fashion, but Wornsop found her rhythm to take the second 7-5 to set up a winner-take-all situation for the match. Hall had the momentum in the match, and broke Worsnop in the first game of the third set en route to a 5-1 lead, which proved to be too much for the Mustang to overcome. This marks the tenth singles win for Hall this season, making her the first Aggie to reach double digits in singles wins. Perhaps inspired by her brother, Sacramento State men's tennis' Donald Hall, who clinched two 4-3 matches for the Hornets this month, Shirley clinched the 4-3 match against Cal Poly for the second consecutive year.
UC Davis improves to 3-5 overall, and 2-2 in the Big West and heads to Santa Clara (2-3) on Sunday for a noon start at the Degheri Tennis Center.
UC Davis 4, Cal Poly 3
February 23, 2019
Davis, Calif.
Doubles
1. Kelsie Bryant/Sara Tsukamoto (UCD) def. Emily Louie-Meadors/MacKenzie Worsnop (CP) 6-3
2. Nikita Pradeep/Shirley Hall (UCD) def. Emily Ackerman/Caroline Williams (CP) 6-3
3. Isabella von Ebbe/Jessica Walker (UCD) vs. Susanne Boyden/Grace Olyphant (CP) 4-4, unf.
Order of Finish: 1, 2*
Singles
1. Nikita Pradeep (UCD) def. Emily Louie-Meadors (CP) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
2. Susanne Boyden (CP) def. Sara Tsukamoto (UCD) 6-4, 6-0
3. Shirley Hall (UCD) def. MacKenzie Worsnop (CP) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
4. Jessica Walker (UCD) def. Grace Olyphant (CP) 6-3, 6-4
5. Emily Ackerman (CP) def. Kelsie Bryant (UCD) 6-0, 6-1
6. Claire Bouquet (CP) def. Skyler Holm (UCD) 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 2, 4, 1, 3*
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
