By Jimmy Friery
SANTA MONICA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Tennis team lost to Santa Monica on Thursday, 7-2.
"Today was our toughest loss but I think everyone played the best so far in the season," head coach Chris Pope said. "With each match we have, I see so much improvement from all my players. Even though we aren't getting the wins right now, everyone is getting better. They're really taking in what we work on in practice and applying it well. It's only a matter of time before we start winning."
The day began with a win in 1 doubles, as Carmen Tzab and Kate Zeile won 8-5.
"My 1 doubles team really wanted to win today after their tough loss against Glendale," Pope said. "They came out on fire and really put the pressure on the other team. I loved what I was seeing."
Sierra Bolanos and Nicole O'Malley lost in 2 doubles, and the Vaqueros defaulted in 3 doubles to start down 2-1.
Kicking off the singles matches, Tzab lost a tight first set 7-5 and succumbed in the second set. Zeile won her first set easily 6-2, but fell in the second 6-3. She would win the back-and-forth match after a 6-3 third set victory.
"Kate had an incredible match at 2 singles," Pope said proudly. "She played against a very tough opponent. The big factor was Kate's composure—all Kate had to do was keep making balls and stay patient until her opponent missed.
"Sometimes the points would last more than 10 shots—that may not sound like a lot, but in a sport where the average point is over before the fourth shot, staying steady for 10 is very impressive."
The final 3 singles matches were all contested, although Santa Monica would win all 3. Bolanos lost 4-6, 3-6 before O'Malley and Anna Kronberg each came up just short in their matches with scores of 5-7, 4-6.
"We lost 2-7 but we look at how we lost: two matches were 5-7, 4-6; one was 5-7, 3-6; one was 4-6, 3-6. That's four matches that could have gone our way," Pope concluded.
The Vaqueros have a week off before heading to Bakersfield next Thursday for another conference match at 2:00 PM.
Doubles:
1. Carmen Tzab/Kate Zeile (SBCC) def. Ayanbadejo/Ogebee (SMC) 8-5
2. Bolognini/Ganbaatar (SMC) def. Sierra Bolanos/Nicole O'Malley (SBCC) 8-2
3. SBCC defaulted (L)
Singles:
1. Ayanbabejo (SMC) def. Carmen Tzab (SBCC) 7-5, 6-3
2. Kate Zeile (SBCC) def. Ganbaatar (SMC) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
3. Ogebee (SMC) def. Sierra Bolanos (SBCC) 6-4, 6-3
4. Laforte (SMC) def. Nicole O'Malley (SBCC) 7-5, 6-4
5. Belanger (SMC) def. Anna Kronberg (SBCC) 7-5, 6-4
6. SBCC defaulted (L)
