California Lutheran University womenโs tennis fell 6-1 to No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at the Poulson Tennis Center on Friday, April 11.
Head Coach Mike Gennette said CMS were two-time defending national champions.
The Regals lost the three doubles matches, but won one out of six singles matches. Senior duo Mina Ahmadi/Carmen Bufkin lost 6-4, junior duo Kylee Limpias/Madison Ford were defeated 6-0, and junior Anya Rajan/senior Luisa Garcia lost 6-3.
Bufkin won her 10th straight singles match 6-2, 6-2 (she won her 11th straight the next day at Redlands). Rajan lost her singles match 6-2, 6-4, Ford lost 6-0, 6-0, Limpias lost 6-2, 6-2, Garcia was also defeated 6-3, 6-0, and first-year Evelyn Oltmans lost her match 6-1, 6-3.
โItโs a big match for everybody, and I think everybody was really looking forward to it and may have been a little distracted by that,โ Gennette said. โWe just need to polish up a few things and get some experience and confidence out of that, and then we can do better next time.โ
According to Gennette, this match showed that the skill level between these two schools was comparable. Gennette said the team completed very well but that there is room for improvement.
โI think that all of them could win that match if they could just put in some more time and build some of those skills and confidence,โ Gennette said.
Even though Rajan was defeated in both her singles and doubles matches, Gennette said she competed well in the number two spot.
โI think it was uncharted territory in some ways, so just, sheโs definitely at this level. She just needs to play at this level more often, and then I think she beats that girl,โ Gennette said.
According to Gennette, Bufkin showed that she was one of the best players in the country for her division, as she beat CMSโs player in the number one spot.
โIt was a tough match. I wasnโt feeling great and I didnโt have the strokes that I wanted to hit with,โ Bufkin said. โMy game wasnโt working, but I found a way to make it work, so I changed my game to where I knew I could still win some points and I fought hard.โ
Bufkin said she had never beaten a CMS player before so she was glad her abilities let her win the match.
โI think the highlight of the game was the lastโ the end of the last first set. She had an overhead and I just guessed correctly that it go cross-court,โ Bufkin said. โSo I just got lucky, but it still was fun.โ
Bufkin said going into the match, she was expecting to fight hard because she knew she was against a good team with a high ranking.
โPersonally, I donโt really get intimidated from these teams but I do enjoy the tough competition. Thatโs what I live for, thatโs why Iโm here playing tennis in Southern California,โ Bufkin said.
Gennette said there were certain times on each court when everyone who was competing felt like they could win. Gennette also said it is hard to keep that energy for the entire match.
According to Gennette, Oltmans played well in the number-six spot, but had a few errors while playing. Oltmans only played singles in Fridayโs competition.
โIt was tough today. I mean, great competition like Carmen said, we came into it knowing that we had to fight,โ Oltmans said. โI think that I played hard, you know. I think a little bit too many errors, maybe a little bit too aggressive.โ
Oltmans said she was proud of her teammates because they fought hard to win their respective matches.
โWe just fight no matter what, and I love that about this school,โ Oltmans said.
The following day, the Regals played a road match at the University of Redlands, where they fell 4-3 to the Bulldogs.
The Regals (6-6 overall; 2-2 in conference) are scheduled to host their senior day match against Pomona-Pitzer (9-7 overall; 3-0 in conference) at the Poulson Tennis Center on Tuesday, April 15 at 4 p.m.
โWeโre gonna go into it fighting, weโre gonna fight hard and weโre gonna leave it all on court,โ Oltmans said.
