WOMEN'S TENNIS TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
UC RIVERSIDE WINS FIRST ROUND CLASH AGAINST UC IRVINE
BOX SCORE
For the second straight year, No. 9 seed UC Riverside toppled No. 8 seed UC Irvine in the first round of the Big West Women’s Tennis Tournament at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The Highlanders won a first round match in back-to-back years for the first time since 2008 and 2009. UCR, which defeated UCI 4-2 in 2018, went the distance on a hot afternoon in Indian Wells with a 4-3 victory.
UCR captured the all-important doubles point as the duo of Tia Elpusan and Sara Khattab took a 7-5 win over Stephanie Hazell and Danielle Garrido. The teams split at No. 2 and No. 3 to set up the clincher on the top court.
The two combatants then took turns compiling points. The Anteaters tied the score when Stephanie Nguyen knocked off Elpusan at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-1.
UCR punched back at No. 3 where Natalie Shamma won a second set tiebreaker to defeat Flora Amiri, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
Back came the Anteaters and Arianna Tilbury’s 6-3, 6-2 triumph at No. 6 over Lauren Wolfe, tying the match at 2-2.
The match would remain tied at 3-3 as freshman Mahli Silpachai at No. 2 won for the Highlanders while Jessica Tsukiji claimed her match at No. 4 for the ‘Eaters.
Determining the outcome at No. 5 was Sara Khattab and Alyssia Fossorier. Fossorier won the first set, but Khattab stormed back with a dominating effort as she won in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.
UCR moves into the quarterfinals on Friday against No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara. First serve is at 8:30 am.
BIG WEST WOMEN’S TENNIS FIRST ROUND
INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN
THURSDAY, APRIL 25
(9) UC RIVERSIDE 4, (8) UC IRVINE 3
Doubles
1. Elpusan/Khattab (UCR) def. Hazell/Danielle Garrido (UCI) 7-5
2. Silpachai/Pham (UCR) def. Tsukiji/Amiri (UCI) 6-4
3. Nguyen/Fossorier (UCI) def. Tracy Van/Shamma (UCR) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Stephanie Nguyen (UCI) def. Tia Elpusan (UCR) 6-4, 6-1
2. Mahli Silpachai (UCR) def. Stephanie Hazell (UCI) 6-4, 6-2
3. Natalie Shamma (UCR) def. Flora Amiri (UCI) 6-2, 7-6 (3)
4. Jessica Tsukiji (UCI) def. Hanh Pham (UCR) 7-6 (3), 7-5
5. Sara Khattab (UCR) def. Alyssia Fossorier (UCI) 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
6. Arianna Tilbury (UCI) def. Lauren Wolfe (UCR) 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 6, 2, 4, 5