LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The No. 21 women's tennis team traveled to Occidental on Saturday where they faced their hosts in the final match of the Beavers' season. Caltech topped the home squad by a score of 8-1 to earn their ninth win of the year and fourth versus a conference opponent.

The day started with doubles action, where the Beavers earned two quick wins. Sophomore Yoyo Benchetrit paired up with senior Nina Solovyeva one final time as the duo cruised to the 8-3 victory.

One court over, junior Athena Kolli and sophomore Payal Patel earned an 8-3 score of their own to earn the win on Court 3.

Singles action belonged to the Beavers as they swept all six contests, with five of the six matches ending in straight sets.

One of the most notable performances came from junior Emily Zhang, who most recently ranked 13th in the ITA regional rankings. Zhang finished conference play with an exceptional 6-1, 6-2 performance on Court 1, upsetting an opponent who last ranked ninth in the same regional poll. Zhang finishes the regular season with a team-high three wins versus regionally ranked opponents.

Court 2 saw Benchetrit grab another well-fought win, topping her opponent 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. The sophomore's 11 wins leads the team this season.

Sophomore Anika Arora put in a commanding performance in third singles as she defeated her opponent 6-3, 6-4. The win was Arora's third in her last four matches.

Senior Nina Solovyeva ended her collegiate career with a Court 4 win, earning a 7-5 victory in the first set after going down 2-5 before cleaning up with a 6-0 second set.

Patel coasted to the 6-1, 6-2 win on Court 5; in sixth singles, junior Teresa Huang posted a dominant 6-1, 6-1 performance.

Solovyeva — the team's lone senior — graduates from Caltech with 21 singles wins in three seasons of play. The team did not compete in 2021 due to COVID.

Benchetrit, Solovyeva and Patel led the team in doubles wins this season with seven a piece. 

Head coach Benay Weintraub was happy to see her team finish the season strong.

"In our final conference match of the season, they showed up and competed hard for Caltech and for Nina," said Weintraub. "This season has been one for the history books, and I am honored to be a part of it. Today, we remained focused and competitive from first serve to match-ending handshakes. Yoyo earned a hard-fought three-set win over a talented Occidental senior; Emily had an incredible straight set victory, and Nina won 11 games straight after falling behind."

"Our team's culture is about grit and focus," said Weintraub. "I'm so proud of how we finished the season together and have generated a lot of buzz surrounding where we will go."

The team will now rest and recover before returning to the courts as they prepare for ITA Regional competition this fall.

Follow the women's tennis team on Instagram @caltechwten.