Date: April 26, 2012
Titans 4 – Highlanders 3
The UC Riverside women’s tennis team competed at the the Big West Championship losing in a play-in game to CSU Fullerton 4-3 on Thursday afternoon. Playing at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the Highlanders were seeded ninth while CSU Fullerton were seeded eight. The Highlanders finished the season with a 3-15 overall record.
In the doubles action, CSU Fullerton got off to a fast start as they won two of the three doubles matches giving them a 1-0 lead. The Highlanders only victory came on count No. 3, where Kate Bergeson and Courtney Pattugalan defeated the Titan’s Malorie Dela Cruz and Avriel Tomaiko, 8-5.
In the singles matches, the Highlanders won their games on court Nos. 3, 4, and 5, but could not pull out one more game for the win. At No. 4 Natalie McKay won decisvily by a score of 6-4, 6-0 over Titan’s Malorie Dela Cruz. At No. 3, Taylor Raney dominated Titan’s Monica Rodriguez 6-2, 6-4 while Courtney Pattugalan took care of Titan’s Kalika Slevcove with a 6-2, 7-5 victory at No. 5. Highlander Kat Saltarelli drop her match on court No. 2, tying the game at 3-3. The tiebreaker took place at court No. 6, where Titan’s Jessica Pepa took the first set, 6-3 over Highlander Kate Bergeson, but Bergeson rallied back, winning the second set 6-3. However, Bergeson would go on to lose the third set, 6-4, giving the Titans a 4-3 victory.
