San Francisco, Calif. (4/24/09) -- The Academy of Art University women's tennis team battled through fierce winds to earn an 8-1 victory over Notre Dame de Namur University on Friday at the San Francisco Tennis Club. Winning all six singles matches in straight sets and dominating the top two doubles positions, the Urban Knights finish their historic first season on a very impressive note.

"I was proud to see how our team finished the season because there can be tendencies to have let ups at certain points," Head Coach Dave Allen said. "It can kind of be like senioritis in high school. But our team continued its same pattern of winning and they were able to push through difficult weather circumstances so I'm proud that everyone finished strong."

At the #1 doubles slot, sophomore Cassy Fabiani teamed with freshman Paola Correa Fe to defeat the Argonauts' Rebecca Corteza and Maureen Oliver 8-0. Another powerful victory came at #2 where sophomore Laone "Lala" Botshoma and senior Anna Ritchie took home an 8-1 finish over Kaylee Nichols and Sally Olsson. The lone loss sustained by AAU was at #3 with Katelyn Mills and Ashley Wilson taking the match from freshmen Maria "Belen" Tenorio and Cecilia Hedin.

When asked about the windy conditions, Allen described the team's strategy, "I had a coach who taught me how to play though it and prior to the match, everyone on our team talked about how we were going to respond. We discussed how the wind can simply drive tennis players crazy and that it is also the great equalizer. If we were not aware, we could have lost that match and no one would know why. It was not normal tennis."

Despite the severe wind, Academy of Art University had one of its season's most convincing victories in singles play against NDNU. Fabiani yielded just one game to Corteza at #1 singles on her way to a 6-1, 6-0 win. At the #2 position, Botshoma bested Nichols 6-3, 6-2 while Tenorio defeated Wilson 6-2, 6-1 in #3 singles. The #4 spot saw Correa Fe take a 6-1, 6-0 decision from Oliver and Ritchie was able to beat Mills 6-3, 6-2 at #5. Finally, Hedin completed the singles sweep by earning a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Pradbhdeep Uppal.

"Cecilia has improved tremendously over the course of this season," Allen said. "And now everyone is noticing. Even other coaches are coming up to me and talking about her game."

The Urban Knights wrap up their inaugural year with a 7-11 overall record and the Argonauts finish 1-15.

Results

Doubles:
#1 Cassy Fabiani/Paola Correa Fe def. Rebecca Corteza/Maureen Oliver 8-0
#2 Laone "Lala" Botshoma/Anna Ritchie def. Kaylee Nichols/Sally Olsson 8-1
#3 Katelyn Mills/Ashley Wilson def. Cecilia Hedin/Maria "Belen" Tenorio 8-4

Singles:
#1 Cassy Fabiani def. Rebecca Corteza 6-1, 6-0
#2 Laone "Lala" Botshoma def. Kaylee Nichols 6-3, 6-2
#3 Maria "Belen" Tenorio def. Ashley Wilson 6-2, 6-1
#4 Paola Correa Fe def. Maureen Oliver 6-1, 6-0
#5 Anna Ritchie def. Katelyn Mills 6-3, 6-2
#6 Cecilia Hedin def. Prapbhdeep Uppal 6-3, 6-1