Box Score
Rohnert Park, CA – The Academy of Art University's women's tennis team competed in their season opener on Saturday afternoon against Sonoma State University. The well established Seawolves team proved to be a challenge for the young Urban Knights. The women battled all afternoon and came up with some really big doubles wins. However, after all of the singles competitions came to an end, the Knights were barely outdone by their opponents and ended up dropping the match 6-3. Now with the first match jitters out of the way, Head Coach Dave Allen is confident in this young ART U team going forward.
“It was a highly anticipated match against Sonoma State. We had never beaten them before, but the girls competed well as reflected in the first set scores,” said Coach Allen. “I was impressed with the girls' composure when their backs were against the wall. And this is just the first match of many.”
Sophomore Diane Phan had a great singles match, and defeated her opponent Haley Hickock with scores of 6-0, 6-3. Senior Laone "Lala" Botshoma competed well, and came up just short of her opponent with scores of 7-6, (9-7), 6-2. Although the other Urban Knights' singles matches were close, Phan was the only one to come away with a victory.
Doubles play was another story for ART U. The team came out attacking and proved to the Seawolves that they were there to compete, winning two out of three doubles matches. The new duo of junior Kunkanda "Cartoon" Phukchampa and sophomore Amal Ben El Hadj played some powerful tennis. The pair defeated their Seawolves competitors with a score of 8-6. Phan and Botshoma have again teamed up for doubles this season, and much like last year, they are a tough combination for anyone to face. The two easily defeated their match-up with a score of 8-4.
Although the Urban Knights came up big in doubles, it was not enough to overcome the singles play deficit. Although they ultimately came up short, they learned a lot from the match, and will only move forward from here.
“Although I'm not thrilled with the end result, I feel like without a doubt we can take a lot away from this match. In reviewing each girl's match, I felt like we did extremely well. We have really been focusing on our doubles play and I saw the girls doing exactly what I'd like them to be doing,” added Allen.
After the loss, the Academy of Art University's record falls to 0-1 on the season, while Sonoma State's record improves to 1-1 overall. The Urban Knights next head to Glendale, AZ to compete in the Paseo Tournament. The tournament is scheduled from February 10th – 12th.
Coach Dave Allen concludes with these thoughts, “In our team's post-match review, it is clear to me that our team is well-prepared for this coming season as it progresses. This team is able to learn from their losses as much as from their wins and is undeterred from their goals for this season.”
