The women’s tennis team recorded its 18th win of the season Sunday, tying a program record.
The Owls dominated from the beginning to top La Salle, 7-0, in their last match of the regular season. The Owls used a strong start in doubles to control the match, and won the rest of their matches in straight sets from there.
In singles, sophomores Dina Karina (6-0, 6-0) and Anais Nussaume (6-0, 6-0), who blanked their opponents with strong play, led the Owls to a victory. Freshmen Yana Khon (6-0, 6-0), Monet Stuckey-Willis (6-0, 6-2), and Alina Abdurakhimova (6-0, 6-0) each dominated their opponents to easily win singles points.
In doubles, the Owls got off to a quick start to secure the doubles point. The duos of junior Minami Okajima and sophomore Mariana Bedon as well as Stuckey-Willis and senior Rebecca Breland cruised in 6-0 defeats. The pairing of Abdurakhimova and Karina also won with a score of 6-2.
“What I did well today was to keep it simple,” Okajima said. “I didn’t need to try anything to difficult and I just needed to stick to my game plan, and I felt that I played well today.”
“It has been a long season,” coach Steve Mauro said. “We played well to deserve the amount of wins that we have this season. We have had a more efficient year and I am proud of the girls this year.”
“Overall the main reason for our success was due to our recruiting efforts,” Mauro added. “[Stuckey-Willis, Abdurakhimova and Khon] were willing to work with us and adhere to the system we have here. Everything this year was a lot smoother.”
With a win in the conference tournament, the Owls could end the 2015 campaign with the most victories of any other women’s tennis program in Temple history.
“The season is going well because of everyone’s motivation,” Okajima said. “During practice everyone works hard and because we are working hard, our performance shows up in the matches.”
Dalton Balthaser can be reached at dalton.balthaser@temple.edu or on Twitter @DaltonBalthaser.
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