It came down to the final singles match and UC Santa Barbara’s Raphaelle Leroux stepped up in the clutch in Big West Women’s Tennis Championship against Cal Poly.
Leroux rebounded from a first-set loss to Sarah MacCallum at the No. 6 court and won the next two, giving the Gauchos a 4-3 victory and their second straight title.
Leroux fed off the energy from her teammates and the Big West-champion men’s team, who lined the fence at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego to cheer her on. The set scores were 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
It’s the 12th title for UCSB and the fourth in the last six seasons. The Gauchos will learn their draw in the NCAA Tournament on Monday. The Selection Show starts at 1:30 p.m.
The doubles point proved to be decisive for UCSB. In match No. 3, Gauchos Emma Tutoveanu/My-Anh Holmes claimed a 6-1 victory over Kennedy Buntrock/Tia Bonita Jakupovic–Klajko. Cal Poly earned its sole doubles win in match No. 2, with Jessica MacCallum/Sarah MacCallum overcoming Lily Pradkin/Shanelle Iaconi, 6-3. In match No. 1, Ekua Youri/Caroline Beard (UCSB) defeated Natalie Lynch/Candela Aparisi, 6-4, to give the Gauchos a 1-0 lead.
In singles, UC Santa Barbara clinched crucial wins in the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 6 positions to seal the narrow victory.
Youri defeated Buntrock in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, at the top of the lineup to give UCSB a 2-0 edge. Jessica MacCallum of Cal Poly won against Isabella Wong, 6-4, 6-1, in match No. 2. Tutoveanu triumphed over Aparisi in a three-set battle, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, in match No. 3 to give the Gauchos back a two-point edge in the dual.
Cal Poly took the next two courts as Alexandra Ozerets edged out Pradkin in a tight No. 4 contest, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1), and Lynch added a victory in match No. 5, defeating Holmes 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. That set up the winner-take-all showdown at No. 6.
“I can’t believe we did it; two years in a row, that’s incredible,” said Leroux.
