SEATTLE – Seattle U women’s tennis finished off their regular season with a rare match at the Championship Field tennis courts on Friday as they faced off against Sacramento State. Although they swept the doubles matchups and forced a number of tight, heart-thumping singles matches, the Redhawks ultimately fell to the Hornets, 5-2.
Sophomore Hannah Gianan kicked off singles play with a three-set thriller, winning the first set 6-2 before dropping the next two, 4-6, 2-6. Junior Kali McCollister, in the number four spot, upped the stakes with three sets and a tiebreaker, finally finishing 7-6 (9-7), 5-7, 5-10. Both sophomore Kyra Jung and senior Lily-Ana Kreutzer showed consistent play in 3-6, 3-6 losses, while freshman Aranza Alvarez-Sanabria (4-6, 0-6) started off hot but was overcome in her match. Freshman Alisa Sabotic won her singles match by default, as the Hornets only fielded five players on their roster.
The lack of players for Sacramento State also gave the Redhawks an automatic doubles win, which was followed by two more Seattle U victories to clinch the doubles point. Gianan and Kreutzer banded together to grind out a 6-4 victory, as the pair of Jung and freshman Hannah Grossman gave everything they had in their own 7-5 win.
“This was a well-fought match against a very solid team,” said Head Coach Joey Barnes. “We definitely competed and had our chances, but just came up short. It was a great final match to prepare us for the WAC Championships."
The Redhawks will head to Brownsville, Texas for the Western Athletic Conference Championships on April 26-28, where they will take on Kansas City at 11:00 AM.
Seattle U vs. Sacramento State
April 19, 2019 at Seattle, Wash.
(Championship Field Tennis Courts)
Sacramento State 5, Seattle U 2
Singles competition
Nielsen, Jayden (SAC) def. Gianan, Hannah (SU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Dorian, Jenna (SAC) def. Jung, Kyra (SU) 6-3, 6-3
Chernyetsky, Carolina (SAC) def. Alvarez-Sanabria, Aranza (SU) 6-4, 6-0
Wicker, Sofi (SAC) def. McCollister, Kali (SU) 6-7 (7-9), 7-5, 10-5
Ugarkovic, Frana (SAC) def. Kreutzer, Lily-Ana (SU) 6-3, 6-3
Sabotic, Alisa (SU) def. No player (SAC), by default
Doubles competition
Gianan, Hannah/Kreutzer, Lily-Ana (SU) def. Nielsen, Jayden/Wicker, Sofi (SAC) 6-4
Jung, Kyra/Grossman, Hannah (SU) def. Dorian, Jenna/Ugarkovic, Frana (SAC) 7-5
McCollister, Kali/Rasmussen, Jillian (SU) def. No player/No player (SAC), by default
Match Notes
Seattle U 5-15, 0-5 WAC
Sacramento State 8-13, 5-4 Big Sky
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,3,5,2,1,4)