LA JOLLA, Calif. – After a tough afternoon battle, the UC San Diego Women's Tennis team came away with a big win at home over Santa Clara. A strong performance in doubles, along with a few gritty wins in singles, put the Tritons in a great position to take the victory.
 
This match leaves the Tritons with an overall record of 8-11, and the Broncos with 0-16.
 
INSIDE THE MATCH
Final Score: UC San Diego 4, Santa Clara 3
Team Records: UC San Diego 8-11; Santa Clara 0-16
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons' performance this afternoon was a true team effort, with everyone contributing to pick up some key points along the way.
 
Doubles action began a bit slow as Santa Clara secured a quick 6-0 win at No. 3. But the Tritons were determined to seize today's opportunity despite this minor setback. They responded confidently, with a win from Rachel Wagner and Katelyn Vu(No. 2) tying it up, and then Ella Pachl and Kelly Leung sealing the deal with a 6-4 win at No. 1.
 
Hot off of the doubles win, the Tritons were ready to take on the singles matches. Rachel Wagner, playing her first singles match since February, set the tone and dominated at No. 6. She won in two sets, 6-2 and 6-2. Ella Pachl(No. 2) also gave the Tritons an early singles victory, also securing her match it two sets, 7-5 and 6-3. Naomi Nguyen put up a fight at No. 4 but ultimately fell to her opponent, 6-7 and 4-6. The match clincher was won by Katelyn Vu at No. 5. After three challenging sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, Vu took the victory and the Tritons got their hard-earned team win.
 
RESULTS
Doubles

1. Ella Pachl/Kelly Leung (UCSD) def. Finley Kalinic/Giulia Hayer (SCU), 6-4
2. Rachel Wagner/Katelyn Vu (UCSD) def. JennaMarie Gordon/Velizara Fileva (SCU), 6-2
3. Dasee Carter/Kasey Feng (SCU) def. Grace Gamal/Naomi Nguyen (UCSD), 6-0

Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1,
 
Singles

1. JennaMarie Gordon (SCU) def. Kelly Leung (UCSD), 6-1, 6-2
2. Ella Pachl (UCSD) def. Finley Kalinic (SCU), 7-5, 6-3
3. Velizara Fileva (SCU) def. Grace Gamal (UCSD), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
4. Dasee Carter (SCU) def. Naomi Nguyen (UCSD), 7-6, 6-4
5. Katelyn Vu (UCSD) def. Giulia Hayer (SCU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
6. Rachel Wagner (UCSD) def. Varya Zlotnik (SCU) 6-2, 6-2

 Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 4, 5, 3
 
QUOTABLE
"It was so important for us to get off to a good start with doubles today," said UC San Diego head coach Liz LaPlante. "Katelyn and Ella played really well, and those were two big wins for us."


 
TRITON TIDBITS

• In this match, senior Rachel Wagner played her second singles match of the season and won at No. 6
• Katelyn Vu earned her third straight singles win this afternoon and she leads the team with ten singles victories.
• Earlier this week, sophomore Katelyn Vu also was awarded UCU Athlete of the Week

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will head to UC Irvine for another Big West match tomorrow, April 8th, at 12 p.m.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.