The UBC TSC Women’s Tennis Team dominated at the 2020 BC Regionals, held on Friday, January 24th and Saturday, January 25th at the UBC Tennis Centre. The Thunderbirds faced-off against Simon Fraser University and The University of Victoria, winning both matches 6-1. Including doubles and singles matches, they racked up an impressive 15 victories in the tournament, earning them a spot at the Western Canadian Championships in March, a qualifier for the National Championships.
The doubles lineup gathering for introductions before the SFU match.
The Team came out strong on Friday night against SFU, capturing wins by both doubles teams. The No. 1 team, Jessica Silva and Abi Heninger only dropped a game to Gabriela Farhat and Anastasia Kriv, while the No. 2 team of Madi Fan and Sara Zupanc, in their first pairing together, took the match 8-0.
Zupanc and Fan between points during their SFU doubles match.
In singles, No. 1 Silva and No. 5 Sofia Kresta both captured their matches at 6-1,6-2 to Farhat and Aylin Zuniga respectively, while No. 2 Fan secured a 6-1,6-0 win over Kriv. At the No. 4 position, Michelle Lim did not drop a game to take her match 6-0, 6-0 against Maggie Burdett. The team dropped one point, with a 6-4,6-1 loss for Zupanc at the No. 3 spot. Overall, it was a dominant opening match, leading the players into the weekend with confidence.
Silva fights for a backhand out wide during her singles match against UVIC.
After a night of rest, the t-birds faced off against the UVIC Vikes on Saturday afternoon. The team easily captured the doubles point, taking all three matches, with Silva/Fan, and Zupanc/Heninger, taking their matches 8-0 at positions No. 1 and No. 2.
Singles saw paralleled successes with many convincing wins, including No. 4 Lim and No. 5 Kresta overcoming their opponents, Chantelle Moisson and Hannah Ack at 6-1,6-0 and 6-3, 6-1, respectively. Rookies Zupanc and Izzy Evans also took home their first singles wins for the team in straight sets, at the No. 3 and No. 6 positions. Overall, the team captured a solid 6-1 win over the Vikes, safely securing a spot at the Western Canadian Championships in March. Head Coach Daniel Yamamoto shared his thoughts about the weekend: “I am happy with the improvement in the team’s doubles play, as reflected in the scoreboard on both days, but further work still remains to be done in both singles and doubles. Overall, a positive performance, and I am excited to work hard with the team as we move into the Western Championships.”
Head Coach Daniel Yamamoto and Assistant Coach Dani Silva watching from the sidelines.
Next for the UBC TSC Women’s Team, is a community outreach exhibition match against a team of Tennis BC Juniors at the UBC Tennis Centre, on Saturday, February 1st. Come out to watch the UBC TSC Women’s Tennis Team battle it out with the up and coming juniors!
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