Box Score
San Francisco, CA- The Urban Knights wrapped up their homestand by hosting Grand Canyon University on Friday morning. Coming off a sweep against Dominican at the beginning of the week, AAU was challenged by the 'Lopes. Although all of the Urban Knights' matches were close, they came up short and were defeated by Grand Canyon 8-1.
“I am proud of the way they handled themselves even in the face of losing,” said Coach Dave Allen. “We are building and everyone is learning about what they need to work on.”
The first singles match was well battled out. Diane Phan played tough, and took the game into overtime before finally falling to her opponent Cecilia Vergnet 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 (7-4). Paola Correa Fe recorded the only win for the Academy of Art University. In her singles match she defeated Stephanie Griffin 6-2, 6-0.
“Our game plan is to be aggressive and we didn't attack well enough today,” commented Allen. “As a team, we did very well, everyone was battling today but they [Grand Canyon] were just too good.”
No other Urban Knights won their singles or doubles matches in the game, but they played well and were just barely edged out. Laone "Lala" Botshoma took her singles match to three sets before coming up short by scores of 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
“We will learn from this and continue to get better. We are really looking forward to our next couple of matches. We play BYU-H in our first match and they are number one in the nation. After BYU we play Chaminade, then HPU, then Hilo. The Hawaii schools have the conferences' best teams and it is going to be a battle we are excited to fight,” added Coach Allen.
After the loss the Academy of Art University's record falls to 5-8, and Grand Canyon University's record improves to 6-11. The Urban Knights will next travel to Hawaii where they will face BYU Hawaii before competing in the Aqua Tournament. The Knights will take on BYU Hawaii on March 23rd, at 2:00 PM at Laie, HI. The Aqua tournament begins on March 24th and lasts through the 26th in Waipahu, HI.
Grand Canyon 8, Academy of Art University 1
Singles competition
1. Cecilia Vergnet (GCU-WT) def. Diane Phan (AAU-WT) 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Stephanie Haldeman (GCU-WT) def. Laone Botshoma (AAU-WT) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
3. Paola Correa Fe (AAU-WT) def. Stefanie Griffin (GCU-WT) 6-2, 6-0
4. Kaila Knopf (GCU-WT) def. Maria Tenorio (AAU-WT) 6-1, 6-3
5. Mandy Prudhomme (GCU-WT) def. Anna Ritchie (AAU-WT) 6-1, 6-2
6. Ali Brackey (GCU-WT) def. Cecilia Hedin (AAU-WT) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Cecilia Vergnet/Stephanie Haldeman (GCU-WT) def. Diane Phan/Laone Botshoma (AAU-WT) 8-4
2. Stefanie Griffin/Kaila Knopf (GCU-WT) def. Anna Ritchie/Paola Correa Fe (AAU-WT) 8-4
3. Ali Brackey/Mandy Prudhomme (GCU-WT) def. Maria Tenorio/Cecilia Hedin (AAU-WT) 8-0
Match Notes:
Grand Canyon 6-11
Academy of Art University 5-8
T-4:00 A-30
