SAN DIEGO – San Diego State women’s tennis was tripped up 6-1 by No. 25-ranked Baylor on Saturday in the first of two matches to be played at the Aztec Tennis Center this weekend.
The Aztecs started off strong, taking the doubles point over the Bears. On the top court, Gloria Alogo and Liisa Varul went toe-to-toe with the 14th-ranked doubles team in the nation, Cristina Tiglea and Liubov Kostenko. The Bears led 6-5 when the match was retired. Yasmine Kabbaj and Ninon Martinache secured the first victory for the Aztecs, taking court two 6-2 over Na Dong and Kennedy Gibbs. Jo-Yee Chan and Zoe Olmos clinched the point on court three, taking down Wenfei Yu and Zuzanna Kubacha in an 8-6 thriller.
The Bears picked up the momentum in singles competition to pull away for the victory. Zoe Olmos won the only set of the day for the Aztecs with a strong 6-4 performance over Gibbs on the fourth court. Olmos battled, but dropped the second set 6-4 and ultimately fell in a 10-6 tiebreaker.
Jo-Yee Chan faced off against Kostenko in the second spot, but came up short 6-4, 6-3.
On court one, Yasmine Kabbaj was bested 6-2, 6-4 by Tiglea, who clinched the match for Baylor.
After a lineup change, Ninon Martinache moved up to the third spot where she fell 6-1, 6-1 to Dong.
Liisa Varul played on the fifth court, but retired the match against Gibbs while down 7-6, 4-2.
Vesa Gjinaj came up short 6-3, 6-2 to Yu on court six.
The Aztecs drop to 2-2 on the season as they head into tomorrow’s matchup against Denver, who fell 6-1 to the University of San Diego on Saturday.
Singles Competition
1. Cristina Tiglea (BU) def. Yasmine Kabbaj (SDSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Liubov Kostenko (BU) def. Jo-Yee Chan (SDSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Zuzanna Kubacha (BU) def. Ninon Martinache (SDSU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Na Dong (BU) def. Zoe Olmos (SDSU) 4-6, 6-4, [10-6]
5. Kennedy Gibbs (BU) def. Liisa Varul (SDSU) 7-6, 4-2 (retired)
6. Wenfei Yu (BU) def. Vesa Gjinaj (SDSU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Cristina Tiglea/Liubov Kostenko (BU) vs. Gloria Alogo/Liisa Varul (SDSU) 6-5 (retired)
2. Ninon Martinache/Yasmine Kabbaj (SDSU) def. Na Dong/Kennedy Gibbs (BU) 6-2
3. Zoe Olmos/Jo-Yee Chan (SDSU) def. Wenfei Yu/Zuzanna Kubacha (BU) 8-6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,2,6,1,5,4)