Aztecs 7 – Highlanders 0
The women’s tennis team opened the 2012 season last Saturday when they made a visit to SDSU after the series was postponed due to weather inclemency. The Highlanders were swept by the Aztecs who always looked to have the upper-hand in the match. UCR lost all seven points in play.
In doubles action, the Aztecs won all three matches to take the first point of the series. SDSU’s Roxanne Ellison and Sierra Ellison beat UCR’s Jamie Raney and Taylor Raney by a comfortable 8-3 in the first match. In the second and third matches, the Aztecs dominated the Highlanders from beginning to end; SDSU’s Julia Wais and Alicia Aguilar defeated Natalie McKay and Kat Saltarelli by 8-3, while Highlanders’ Courtney Pattugalan and Kate Bergeson were beaten by Emma Cioffi and Laura Iriarte by 8-4.
The remaining six points of the series were disputed in singles action. Out of the six matches, UCR was able to win only one set; Highlander Kate Bergeson won the opening set of her match against SDSU’s Kristin Buth. Bergeson showed her quality and pace by imposing the rhythm of play. Buth was unable to keep up with Bergeson and dropped the first set. In the second set, SDSU’s Kristin Buth came back and won with an impressive defensive and counterattacking performance. The game had to be settled with a tie break. Highlander Kate Bergeson dropped the quality of her play and her accumulation of unforced errors ultimately cost her the game. The final score was 3-6, 6-2, 10-8 for Buth.
Elsewhere, UCR’s Jamie Raney and Taylor Raney lost to SDSU’s Julia Wais and Emma Cioffi by 6-1, 6-3 and 6-3, 6-3, respectively.
Next for the Highlanders is a visit from CSU Bakersfield to the SRC tennis courts on Thursday, Feb. 2.
January 29, 2012
Lumberjacks 5 – Highlanders 2
UCR men’s tennis hosted Northern Arizona in the second fixture of the season. UCR was looking to get its first victory after they were thrashed by the Aztecs. The Highlanders fought hard to get the result but at the end fell short to the Lumberjacks.
In doubles action, UCR’s Felix Macherez and Austin Andres defeated NAU’s Robin Pezzutto and Shaun Waters by 8-3. The UCR duo controlled the game from end to end and delivered a comfortable victory, tipping the Highlanders to get the first point of the afternoon. However, NAU got the doubles point after winning matches two and three. UCR’s Kevin Griffin and Jimmy Roberts were beaten by NAU’s Dominic Bermudez and Robert Martin by 8-3, while Highlanders Luis Gastao and Simon Peters were defeated as well by Lumberjacks Patrick Schimmelbauer and Ben Lantz by 8-4 to take the point.
The Highlanders got on the scoreboard thanks to points by Felix Macherez and Jimmy Roberts who defeated NAU’s Robin Pezzutto and Patrick Schimmelbauer, respectively. Felix Macherez had to come from behind after dropping the first set, but he proved to be resilient and got the point by winning the closing sets. The final score was 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Jimmy Roberts also came from behind to beat his rival. After losing the first set, Roberts put in an astonishing performance to defeat his rival by 2-6, 6-3 and 7-5. In other matches, UCR’s Austin Andres lost to NAU’s Dominic Bermudez in three sets; Andres won the opening set but dropped the game in the latter two sets. The final outcome of the series saw UCR fall short to NAU by 5-2. UCR will visit UNLV for the third fixture of the season on Feb. 3 in Las Vegas.
