Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Trenton Cayetano & Rob Garcia)

San Francisco, CA -- After starting the all-time series losing the first three matches against Sonoma State, the Academy of Art University women's tennis team defeated the Seawolves for the second time and third time in a row dating back to last year, ending the home season on a high note with a 5-4 win. The Urban Knights were led by Amal Ben El Hadj in her final match in San Francisco, as the senior dominated in both doubles and singles to cap off her home career.

Ben El Hadj teamed up with Michelle Dandik Zaale to stake the Urban Knights an early lead as the rolled to an 8-1 victory in second doubles. Sonoma State evened the score as the doubles team of Sara Celma and Chloe Jolliff, ranked 9th in the region coming into today, defeated Nina Gajdosikova & Daniela Amelunge Antelo 8-6. The Knights pulled out a third doubles victory in a back-and-forth battle between Jenny Johansson & Sara Lemp and Lauren Ha & Sheena Johnson. Johansson & Lemp took an early 4-1 lead, but then fell behind 4-5 before pulling out an eventual 9-7 win.

Heading into singles play with a 2-1 lead, the Knights went to work. Johansson in fourth (6-0, 6-1) and Ben El Hadj in third  (6-2, 6-3) dispatched their opponents almost simultaneously, putting ART U one point away from clinching the victory. They got that point soon after, as Kinga Kurczbuch fell in fifth singles but Dandik Zaale completed a 6-1, 6-4 victory in second singles to secure the win. All eyes turned to the two remaining matches, the first and sixth spots, which both went the distance to a ten-point tiebreak. Gajdosikova put up a fierce battle with Celma, who is ranked #11 in the region in singles play, but fell 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 4-10. The last match of the day was between freshman Tamara Kenia and Lauren Shafer, with Shafer winning in the end 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 7-10.

After three years in an Urban Knight uniform, Ben El Hadj now ranks first all time in career singles wins with 40, and has the second most career doubles wins with 34. She put together three straight years with double-digit singles win totals, winning 14 her sophomore year and 10 last season before her 16 wins this year, and will head to her final PacWest Championship next week. The Knights will play one more tuneup against BYU Hawaii before the Championship starts next Thursday.