Westmont Women’s Tennis (5-6, 3-0 GSAC) remained undefeated in conference play on Friday after defeating OUAZ (5-6, 2-1 GSAC) 5-2 in Santa Barbara. Following the win, Westmont remains tied for first place in the conference, knotted with Saint Katherine who is also 3-0.
“We’re intentional in challenging ourselves against the best teams in order to prepare for conference games,” said Westmont associate head coach Cade Pierson. “Our match against LSUA earlier this week really prepared us for today.”
The Warriors swept doubles play behind a couple dominant outings on the first two courts. On court one, Rachal Jackson and Christine Hemry defeated Johanna Sotelo-Mena and Paulette Careaga 6-1. Then on court two, Emily Peterson and Francesca Aguirre defeated Antonia Kostoff and Guilia Leali by the same score.
Sophia Ostovany and Logan Jackson completed the sweep on court three, when they defeated Lyndsee Fleury and Maya Salamon 6-3.
“Everybody played really well in doubles,” noted Pierson. “On one and two we played two really good doubles teams who were rated above our players going into today’s match. We knew we had to come out strong and we did exactly that today.
“Our teams did a great job taking what they learned on Wednesday and taking it into today. Our team really dictated the place of play.”
In singles play, the Warriors took four of the remaining six matches to claim the day. On court three, Aguirre continued to shine as she defeated Kostoff 6-2, 6-2, and on court five, Ostovany found similar success with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Veronica Gallardo.
On court four, Hemry outlasted Careaga 6-3, 7-5. The highlight of the day came on court one, where Jackson went toe-to-toe with Leali, the reigning GSAC Player of the Month. On Friday, Jackson got the best of her opponent, winning a three-set match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
“I am really proud of Christine for winning the clincher,” reflected Pierson. “She has seen a lot of growth this season and did a great job clinching that match. She kept her composure, trusted her game plan, and stepped it up in the end. I am really proud of her.
“Rachal’s opponent was the conference player of the month last month, so it was awesome to see her be able to finish that match with a win. It was awesome to see her work through things, keep her composure, and commit to her game plan.”
The women return to action tomorrow, when they host Arizona Christian at Westmont College. First serve of the match is set to take place at 1:30 p.m.
Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.
email: sports@newspress.com
