SAN DIEGO — No. 46 San Diego women's tennis fended off No. 54 Rice 4-3 in a highly contested Saturday afternoon dual at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center, taking a must-win match for their NCAA Tournament hopes and a fourth straight victory.
"It was an awesome team win," assistant coach Jordan Angus said. "This one really came down to the wire, but I am super proud of how we competed today. For both singles and doubles to come down to tiebreakers and Charlotte to win both is so impressive and shows the resilience of this group."
The Toreros won the match with it's crucial first and last points in the fine margins of tiebreaks, claiming the doubles point in extended, dramatic fashion to set the tone, then withstood a Rice comeback in singles, thanks to Charlotte Keitel on main court, to secure the victory.
USD opened doubles with a ranked loss on court one before bouncing back on courts two and three. Vilma Krebs Hyllested and Maria Shmakova leveled things with a 6-2 win on court two, sending the point to a deciding third court. There, Keitel and Kristina Nordikyan delivered in the clutch, edging their Rice counterpoint in a long tiebreak 7-6 (10-8) after facing mutliple match points to clinch the doubles point for the Toreros.
ITA No. 109 Hannah Read was dominant on court two and first to finish in singles for the Toreros, posting a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory. Anni Moll's 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 6 singles put the Toreros up 3-1 after a Rice win on court four to start singles.
Two more Owl wins on courts three and five tied the match at three, leaving the match in the hands of Keitel. The German junior would deliver on main court, gutting out a three-set, tiebreak win over Darya Schwartzman, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), to clinch the match for the Toreros.
"We are starting to get some momentum and now its our job to continue that into Baylor on Tuesday," said Angus.
Up Next
The Toreros round out non-conference play with another crucial WCC matchup, taking on current ITA No. 37 Baylor on Tuesday, March 31.
Results
#46 San Diego 4, #54 Rice 3
Doubles
- Darya Schwartzman/Uma Bakaityte (RICE) def. Anni Moll/Hannah Read (USD) 6-1
- Vilma Krebs Hyllested/Maria Shmakova (USD) def. Francesca Maguina/Ema Mravcova (RICE) 6-2
- Charlotte Keitel/Kristina Nordikyan (USD) def. Divna Ratkovic/Daniela Chica (RICE) 7-6 (10-8)
Singles
- Charlotte Keitel (USD) def. Darya Schwartzman (RICE) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2)
- #109 Hannah Read (USD) def. Divna Ratkovic (RICE) 6-2, 6-2
- Uma Bakaityte (RICE) def. Vilma Krebs Hyllested (USD) 7-5, 7-5
- Francesca Maguina (RICE) def. Ines Leon (USD) 6-3, 6-0
- Ema Mravcova (RICE) def. Maria Shmakova (USD) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1)
- Anni Moll (USD) def. Fernanda Martinez (RICE) 6-2, 7-5
Order of finish – Doubles: 1, 2, 3; Singles: 4, 2, 6, 3, 5, 1
San Diego 9-7; Rice 11-7
