NORTHRIDGE, Calif.- The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (7-6) took down the Cal State Northridge Matadors (9-1) by a score of 4-3, ruining CSUN's undefeated record and remaining 2-0 in the Big West.
Despite the hot and windy conditions, the Gauchos took care of business out of the gate. The one and two doubles pairs for UCSB were able to get wins to clinch the doubles point. Luisa Ortiz Candido and Melissa Baker clinched the win with a 8-5 victory over the undefeated duo for CSUN, Mickey Hsu and Kristen Poei.
Singles proved to be a challenge, but the Gauchos accepted that challenge and battled hard.
Natalie Da Silveira started the Gauchos off with a 6-2, 6-2 win at her usual number two spot. Gilbertson , back at her usual number one spot, got the 6-2, 6-4 victory.
The match was tied 3-3 as CSUN picked up victories in the four, five, and six spots. It was up to Melissa Baker, who had spent the majority of the season at number four, but recently made the transition up to the number three spot.
The pressure was not a problem for Baker. She fought against the heat and the wind to come out victorious, winning the match for the Gauchos, by a score of 7-5, 6-3 over the Matadors' Ki Kim, who was 7-1 on the season.
"The conditions were less than prime with lots of wind and heat," assistant coach Erica Cano said after the match. "Melissa played great and gutsy tennis to clinch the match, so it's a really good for her confidence. She will be a better player because of it."
"No matter how annoying the heat and wind was, I just knew that it was a variable I couldn't control and that my opponent would hate it more than me," Baker said after her match clinching win.
"Despite not being able to play my best I was able to just keep the ball deep and build off of her errors."
Baker said that the attitude of her opponent helped her in her win.
"After winning the first set, she got really down on herself and I knew I had the match if I kept up my energy and didn't miss much," she said.
"We're 2-0 in the conference," Cano said. "So we'll take that."
The Gauchos will look to carry their momentum back home as they take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs tomorrow at 12PM.
Follow the team on twitter @UCSBWTennis for live match updates.
UC Santa Barbara 4, Cal State Northridge 3
March 13, 2015
Northridge, Calif. (Matador Tennis Complex)
Doubles
1. Natalie Da Silveira/April Scatliffe (UCSB) def. Vivian Lin/Ki Kim (CSUN) 8-2
2. Luisa Ortiz Candido/Melissa Baker (UCSB) def. Mickey Hsu/Kristen Poei 8-5
3. Jaimee Gilbertson/Stacy Yam (UCSB) vs. Criss Rodriguez/ Jess Warren Abandoned
Singles
1. Jaimee Gilbertson (UCSB) def. Vivian Lin (CSUN) 6-2, 6-4
2. Natalie Da Silveira (UCSB) def. Mickey Hsu (CSUN) 6-2, 6-1
3. Melissa Baker (UCSB) def. Ki Kim (CSUN) 7-5, 6-3
4. Criss Rodriguez (CSUN) def. April Scatliffe (UCSB) 6-2, 6-3
5. Kristen Poei (CSUN) def. Stacy Yam (UCSB) 6-0, 6-2
6. Jess Warren (CSUN) def. Priscila Garcia (UCSB) 6-0, 6-4
Match Notes
UC Santa Barbara 7-6, 2-0 BWC
Cal State Northridge 9-1, 3-1 BWC
Order of Results
Doubles; (1, 2) Singles; (2, 5, 1, 4, 6, 3)
