INDIAN WELLS – No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara lost the doubles point, but stormed back in singles to prevail 4-1 over No. 6 seed Cal State Northridge in the quarterfinals of the Big West Women’s Tennis Championship at Indian Wells Tennis Garden Friday.
The Gauchos set up a meeting with Long Beach State in the semifinals for the second straight year. LBSU was a 4-1 victor last year.
However, the Matadors did not make matters easy for the Gauchos with a hotly contested doubles point. CSUN won 8-2 at the No. 1 draw and UCSB responded with an 8-4 win at No. 3. The Matador No. 2 tandem of Maria Pistalu and Lorraine Cheung knocked off Erica Cano and Priscila Garcia, 8-6, for the 1-0 advantage.
“We started strong after the doubles point,” said Gaucho head coach Simon Thibodeau. “It’s nice to be in the semifinals. We’ll give everything we have against Long Beach tomorrow.”
The Gauchos shook off the deficit and regained the lead with wins at No. 5 and No. 3 singles. Stacy Yam defeated Jessica Warren 6-4, 6-1 and Paula Cos downed Sabrina Man-Son-Hing 6-0, 6-2 to give the Gauchos a 2-1 edge.
UCSB continued to press at No. 6 with Cano taking down Alexis Marquez by a 6-2, 7-6 (2) score. In an intense, back-and-forth affair, April Scatliffe squeezed past Pistalu with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 1.
UCSB bettered its overall record to 15-8 while CSUN finished the season 10-11.
BIG WEST TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN
WOMEN’S QUARTERFINALS
(3) UC SANTA BARBARA 4, (6) CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 1Doubles
1. Yang/Man-Son-Hing (CSUN) def. Scatliffe/Meehan (UCSB) – 8-2
2. Pistalu/Cheung (CSUN) def. Cano/Garcia (UCSB) – 8-6
3. Yam/Cos (UCSB) def. Warren/Marquez (CSUN) – 8-4Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. April Scatliffe (UCSB) def. Maria Pistalu (CSUN) – 7-5, 6-3
2. Kiersten Meehan (UCSB) vs. Anna Yang (CSUN) – DNF
3. Paola Cos (UCSB) def. Sabrina Man-Son-Hing (CSUN) – 6-0, 6-2
4. Priscila Garcia (UCSB) vs. Lorraine Cheung (CSUN) – DNF
5. Stacy Yam (UCSB) def. Jessica Warren (CSUN) – 6-4, 6-1
6. Erica Cano (UCSB) def. Alexis Marquez (CSUN) – 6-2, 7-6 (2)Order of finish: 5, 3, 6, 1
