The UC Riverside women’s tennis team got their 2012-13 season underway last Friday with matches at the Cal State Fullerton Tournament. The Highlanders had two single match ups and a double match on the first day of play. Both of the single matches for Riverside went well as both of the Riverside players went on to the second round. However, the doubles for the Highlanders saw their first lost of the season.
In the singles Flight B group, Highlander Natalie McKay faced off against Ulrike Hahn for Concordia University Irvine. McKay would go on to win her first round match 6-0, 6-0 and move on to the second round where she had more of a challenge but held on to win both sets easily 6-2 and 7-5 over Portland State player Megan Govi.
The singles for Flight C group saw Highlander Courtney Pattugalan against UC Santa Barbara’s Alexandra Porath and would go on to win by default. The second round for Highlander Pattugalan went well as she beat Cal State L.A. Athletics’ Sydney Postal in two sets 6-2 and 6-0.
The Highlanders’ duo McKay and Pattugalan teamed up to go against Portland State’s duo of Kelsey Frey and newcomer Daria Burobina. The double match for Flight A group was not as successful, as UC Riverside went on to lose a close one 8-6.
The UC Riverside women’s tennis team continued the Cal State Fullerton tournament early Saturday morning at 8:00 am. Saturday saw single matches from Highlander McKay and Pattugalan and a double match with McKay and Pattugalan, however, the second day for the Highlanders would not be as fun as Pattugalan was the only UCR player that made it to the semi-finals.
Highlander Pattugalan won her third round singles match 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 against UC Irvine’s Alison Klein. Pattugalan continued play in the Flight C group with a matchup in the semifinals against Irvine Sarah Stadfelt, however, Pattugalan would go on to lose the match 2-6 and 1-6 for her final match of the tournament.
The other UC Riverside player Saturday was Natalie McKay and she dropped her third-round matchup 4-6 and 2-6 against Long Beach State Karolina Rozenberg. After the two losses in the Flight B and Flight C groups the doubles was the only action left for the Highlanders.
The duo McKay and Pattugalan fared well in the tournament as they made it to the consolation round against Southern Utah’s Olya Tatarchenko and Alex Ivanova, however, the Highlanders would lose 8-9.
McKay and Pattugalan only played in two tournaments with each other last year, going 1-1. They started off the year on a strong note and can learn from this tournament as they look to have a good year for Riverside. Last year, McKay was the only player with 10 wins, 10-18. The women’s tennis team last year went 3-15, ending their season on a five game losing streak.
