PASADENA, Calif. — The national No. 42 Caltech women's tennis team defeated the No. 38 Panthers of Chapman University on Friday, 6-3, in an afternoon home match.
Action began with doubles play where Caltech quickly picked up a 2-0 lead in the team score. Senior Emily Zhang (Sharon, Mass. / Sharon) and rookie Anna Tanaka (Honolulu / IMG Academy) wrapped up first with an impressive 8-3 victory in second doubles before junior Payal Patel (Cumming, Ga. / South Forsyth) and first-year Hannah Ramsperger (Zürich / Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich) picked up the dominant 8-2 win from the third position moments later.
The squad soon went up 4-1 after some exceptional tennis from Patel and Tanaka in singles play. Patel topped her opponent 6-2, 6-2 on Court 5 to improve to 8-4 on the year. Minutes later, Tanaka secured a 6-1, 6-3 victory on Court 6.
Junior Anika Arora (Fremont, Calif. / Mission San Jose) clinched the match for Caltech in the third position after taking the first set 6-1 and nabbing the hard-fought 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaker victory in the second.
Caltech earned one more victory from sophomore Anna Szczuka (Scotch Plains, N.J. / Scotch-Plains Fanwood) on Court 4, who won the first set 6-3 before falling in the second, 5-7. Szczuka then put in a brilliant performance in the 10-point tiebreak, winning eight straight points en route to a 10-2 winning score.
Head coach Benay Weintraub was proud of how the team fought throughout the contest.
"We competed hard from start to finish," said Weintraub. "The resilience showcased today got us the revenge from last season. [Arora] dug deep and executed perfectly to clinch the match for us," she said.
"I'm really proud of the team support and fight; we need to stick together and finish strong."
Weintraub and the Beavers will have only a brief time to rest and recover as they take on Occidental College tomorrow, Saturday, Apr. 13 at 3 p.m. in another home clash.
