IRVINE, Calif. – UCI brought four singles matches to extra sets, but could not prevail against Cal Poly, falling 7-0.
 
The Mustangs jumped out in front with two 6-0 wins in doubles. Following that, Cal Poly used a pair of two set wins to hold the 3-0 advantage.
 
The match was clinched on court six which was the first three-setter of the afternoon. Larissa Teramura defeated her opponent 6-3 in the first set of the game but lost in the last two as Cal Poly clinched the match.
 
Asha Gidwani saw success in her second set at the No. 2 spot, earning the 6-3 win. The sophomore fought back from a deficit in the third to tie the match and force extra points. Carolyna Fowler was in a similar position in her No. 3 match where she took down her opponent in the second set, 7-5.
 
Haily Huynh played a marathon of a three-set match on court four. Huynh fought for the extra point for a 7-5 victory in the first set before going down 6-4 in the second. Like Gidwani, Huynh went to extra points in the final set.
 
"Another tough conference match today," stated head coach Elizabeth Ferris Smith. "When we work together and believe in ourselves and the coaching, we have proven to be a very talented and dangerous team. I'd like to see us start the first point with that mindset. Cal Poly is too good of a team to work your way into the match. I am pleased with how we rebounded after doubles. We got the energy going and dug our heels in. We put ourselves in strong positions and made Cal Poly beat us."
 
"Asha [Gidwani] lost a close first set but with some fine tuning was able to step up in the second to get the win. Down 5-3 in the third set, she broke serve on a deuce point and held her own close service game to tie it up 5-5. She held serve again to bring it back to 6-6. I liked how she played the third set breaker. She went with the correct strategy."
 
"I thought Carolyna [Fowler] matched and honored Asha's fight. High energy can become infectious. Both Asha and Carolyna used all their tools today. Larissa [Teramura] played a very talented shot maker. She had some incredible gets. Haily [Huynh] also showed a lot of fight out there. Her opponent makes you work so hard to win every point but that didn't bother Haily one bit. There are still a couple big matches on the horizon. I am very confident we will continue to come together and fine tune our strategies."
 
"Lastly, it was great to welcome former UCI women's tennis head coach and men's tennis alumni Mike Edles today. Even though he was wearing green today, it was nice to see him."
 
DOUBLES
Delanie Dunkle/Peyton Dunkle (CP) vs. Emily Fowler/Kayla Meraz (UCI) 5-1 uf
Melissa LaMette/Romane Mosse (CP) def. Carolyna Fowler/Haily Huynh (UCI) 6-0
Kennedy Buntrock/Eliza Bates (CP) def. Jenna Schlatter/Larissa Teramura (UCI) 6-0
 
SINGLES DRAWS
D. Dunkle (CP) def. Jenna Schlatter (UCI) 6-3, 6-1
Alexandra Ozerets (CP) def. Asha Gidwani (UCI) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)
Mosse (CP) def. Carolyna Fowler (UCI) 6-4, 5-7, 6-1
LaMette (CP) def. Haily Huynh (UCI) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
Buntrock (CP) def. Emily Fowler (UCI) 6-2, 6-0
Bates (CP) def. Larissa Teramura (UCI) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
 
EXHIBITION SINGLES (ONE SET)
Nour Khayat (UCI) def. MacCallum (CP) 6-2
MacCallum (CP) def. Mikaela Hinton (UCI) 6-2
 
WHAT THE PLAYERS HAD TO SAY
"Today was a battle to the end! Even though doubles started off rocky, everyone reset and brought in great mentalities for singles. I was especially proud of how I fought today in my singles match and worked to win every point. I saw great efforts from the whole team, and four three setters is a testament to the hard work of my teammates. Go 'Eaters!" -Larissa Teramura

"Proud of my fight out there today. Came back in the first set being down 3-0 and winning it. I competed extremely well wanting to win every point but, in the end, I was just a couple mistakes away from winning the match. I saw everyone was fighting out there getting to third sets. That only shows how good of a team we have and how we are improving every day. Go 'Eaters!" -Haily Huynh

"I think today was a great day for some great matches! I'm so proud of how everyone fought until the end today. I was proud of myself, and my game and I think today was one of the best matches I've played in a while. I'm so thankful assistant coach Alyssia [Fossorier] was able to coach me and get me through my match. Overall, the support from my teammates and coaches truly helped me in today's match and I'm so proud of how everyone fought." -Asha Gidwani
 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters head over to Black and Blue rival Long Beach State for a match on Friday Apr. 19 at 2 p.m.