Women’s Tennis Falls in Close Contest With First-Place San Jose State

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force Women's Tennis gave every ounce they had in a Friday outdoor match against 13-1 San Jose State and pushed the Spartans to the brink but were unable to close out, falling 4-3 at Cadet Gym.

The Falcons went down in a razor-thin doubles contest, ceding the point to SJSU on lines one and three. Sofia Mavor/Shivaani Selvan, competing together on court two for the first time since Feb. 16, took a 2-1 lead over Duru Durgun/Olaya Bances and never looked back, sweeping their final game and claiming a 6-3 win on line two to improve to 5-4 as a pair in dual doubles, while snapping a five-match win streak for their Spartan opponents. On line one, Senior Alexis Odom and junior Arianna Van Houweling held an early lead over Cheuk Ying Shek / Carla Urchoeguia but ultimately fell 6-3. With the doubles point on the line on court two, Giovanna Sanchirico and Maya Michalski, competing for the first time as a duo this season, played out to a tiebreak against Emma Fantousis/Soledad Fayos but trailed throughout, falling 7-4 to give San Jose State a 1-0 advantage leading into singles.

SJSU (14-1, 5-0 MW) jumped out to a 2-0 lead after claiming a two-set win on the second flight, but the Falcons were able to answer, as Selvan got off court five with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Fantousis, earning the freshman her seventh singles win of the season to date. Van Houweling tied the match on line two, downing 6-3 Durgun, who was in search of her fifth-straight win to improve to 8-4 this spring.

Odom, on the top flight and facing 10-2 Ying Shek, claimed a 6-1 opening set and fell 6-2 in the second to force a third. Down 4-2 in the third, the Falcon captain fought back to tie the match at 5-all. From there, Odom claimed the final two games, putting a stamp on the match with an ace on a 40-all deciding point to lift Air Force into a 3-2 lead.

On court six, Sanchirico took 8-0 Soledad Fayos into a second-set tiebreak in an effort to force a third set but fell 7-5 and tie San Jose State back up with the Falcons.

Michalski, facing Bances on line four to decide the match, split 7-5 decisions in the opening two sets with her opponent. In the third set, Michalski held a 5-4 lead with the chance to clinch a Falcon win, but ultimately lost out 7-5 in the third, as the Spartans secured a 4-3 win.

Head Coach Tasylor Hollander on Saturday's result:

"While we didn't come out on top today, I couldn't be prouder of our team. From start to finish, the fight, energy, and determination were there. Each player earned their opportunities and faced the pressure head-on in a tough conference match. The support for one another was unwavering, and the resilience shown is exactly what we need to build on moving forward. We'll learn from this and continue to grow stronger as a team."

Up Next:
The Falcons cap a home weekend hosting Fresno State on Sunday at 10 a.m.

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