SAN DIEGO – San Diego State women’s tennis welcomed No. 7 Duke to the Aztec Tennis Center on Thursday, falling 4-0 to the Blue Devils in the first of back-to-back matches this week.
The Aztecs fall to 7-5 (0-0 Mountain West) and the Blue Devils improve to 11-2 (4-0 ACC).
The Scarlet and Black battled in doubles play, but came up just short of earning the first point in the match. On court two, Yasmine Kabbaj and Ninon Martinache earned a commanding 6-2 win over Shavit Kimchi and Ava Krug to give the Aztecs an advantage. A tight matchup on court three went the way of the Blue Devils with Emma Jackson and Liv Hovde coming out on top 7-5 over Gloria Alogo and Zoe Olmos. Facing the No. 14 doubles pair in the nation, Liisa Varul and Jo-Yee Chan kept things close on court one, but ultimately fell 6-4 to Irina Balus and Ellie Coleman, securing the doubles point for Duke.
The Aztecs faced four nationally ranked singles players and won three sets, but couldn’t push past the Blue Devils.
Kabbaj took on 13th-ranked Balus on the top court. The senior fell 6-2 in the first set, but rallied for a crucial 6-3 win in the second. Balus led Kabbaj 5-4 in the final set of the match that was coming down to the wire when the Blue Devils clinched the team victory.
In the second spot, Chan was bested by Hovde, falling 6-3 in the first set and 7-5 in the second.
Alogo’s court three matchup against No. 29 Jackson was left unfinished. Jackson captured the first set 6-1, but Alogo didn’t go down easily, taking the second by a score of 6-3. Jackson led the third set 5-2 when the match was called.
Facing off against No. 33 Eleana Yu, Martinache fell 6-2, 6-1 on court four.
Duke clinched the match with a win on court five. Olmos came up short 6-4 to 60th-ranked Kimchi in the first set, but turned things around, taking the second set by the same score. The senior ultimately couldn’t hold on to the momentum, falling 6-0 in the third.
Court six was left unfinished. Varul earned a gritty 7-6 (7-3) win over Katie Codd, but dropped the second set 6-4 before the match was clinched.
The Aztecs are back in action tomorrow, opening up conference play with a 2 p.m. matchup against Air Force at the Aztec Tennis Center.
Doubles:
1. No. 14 Irina Balus/Ellie Coleman def. Liisa Varul/Jo-Yee Chan 6-4
2. Yasmine Kabbaj/Ninon Martinache def. Shavit Kimchi/Ava Krug 6-2
3. Emma Jackson/Liv Hovde def. Gloria Alogo/Zoe Olmos 7-5
Singles:
1. No. 13 Irina Balus vs. Yasmine Kabbaj DNF 6-2, 3-6, 5-4
2. Liv Hovde def. Jo-Yee Chan 6-3, 7-5
3. No. 29 Emma Jackson vs. Gloria Alogo DNF 6-1, 3-6, 5-2
4. No. 33 Eleana Yu def. Ninon Martinache 6-2, 6-1
5. No. 60 Shavit Kimchi def. Zoe Olmos 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
6. Liisa Varul vs. Katie Codd DNF 7-6 (7-3), 4-6
Order of finish: doubles (2,3,1); singles (4,2,5)