University of Minnesota Athletics
Ryba Keeps Rolling as Gophers Fall
3/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Caroline Ryba moved her win streak to five with a victory at San Diego State as the Gophers fell 5-2 in their final nonconference match of the season.
All the matches were competitive but the Aztecs used their home court advantage for all it was worth.
"We competed well for the first time really being outside," head coach Chuck Merzbacher said. "I am proud of the effort and we will be ready for the Big Ten battles to come."
The Gophers (9-5) dropped just their third doubles point of the season to start the match. Caitlyn Merzbacher and Mehvish Safdar had a three match win streak snapped losing 6-3 at the No. 3 spot. The Aztecs sealed the doubles point with a 6-4 victory at No. 1 over Paula Rincon-Otero and Annemarie Emme. Ryba and Julia Courter came into today with a four match win streak and an 8-1 overall record and hold on to that as their match at No. 2 went unfinished. It was tied 4-4 when it was called.
SDSU took their second point of the day winning at the No. 2 singles spot. Courter fell there (6-3, 7-5) to a tough opponent in Tami Nguyen.
Ryba, No. 120, put Minnesota on the board winning at No. 1 (6-3, 6-2) over Jana Buth. She is 13-6 overall on the season.
Camila Vargas Gomez fell (6-2, 7-5) at No. 6 and Emme was defeated (7-5, 6-4) at No. 5 in tough battles sealing the victory for SDSU.
Jessika Mozia had one of the closest matches of the afternoon at the No. 4 spot losing her first set in a tiebreak 7-6 (1) and could not hang in a tough 7-5 second set loss.
Rincon had the day's lone three set match in the No. 3 spot. She cruised to a 6-2 first set victory before falling 7-5 in the second set. She regained momentum to pull out a 7-5 third set victory giving the Gophers a second point. She is now 13-6 on the season.
The Gophers get into the grind of Big Ten play starting this weekend. They host Penn State on Friday at 3 p.m. before heading to Ohio State for a 10 a.m. match on Sunday. They are 1-0 in B1G play after topping Wisconsin earlier this season.
San Diego State 5, No. 48 Minnesota 2
Singles Competition
1. Caroline Ryba (MINN) def. Jana Buth (SDSU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Tami Nguyen (SDSU) def. Julia Courter (MINN) 6-3, 7-5
3. Paula Rincon-Otero (MINN) def. Kennedy Davis (SDSU) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
4. Paola Diaz de Requle (SDSU) def. Jessika Mozia (MINN) 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
5. Isabelle Hoorn (SDSU) def. Annemarie Emme (MINN) 7-5, 6-4
6. Taylor Lederman (SDSU) def. Camila Vargas Gomez (MINN) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Jana Buth/Isabelle Hoorn (SDSU) def. Paula Rincon-Otero/Annemarie Emme (MINN) 6-4
2. Kennedy Davis/Paola Diaz de Requle (SDSU) vs. Julia Courter/Caroline Ryba (MINN) 4-4, unfinished
3. Taylor Lederman/Tami Nguyen (SDSU) def. Caitlyn Merzbacher/Mehvish Safdar (MINN) 6-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1) Singles (2,1,6,5,4,3)
Players Mentioned
