Leopards Defeat Caltech To Earn First Win Of Season

The University of La Verne women's tennis team earned their first season victory in conference action, outlasting the Caltech Beavers, 8-1, in Pasadena Saturday afternoon.

ULV (1-2, 1-0 SCIAC) opened the dual match winning the doubles contests to take a 3-0 lead before singles competition. Sophomores Jennifer Baca and Claudia Chavez had the most resounding victory in beating Caltech's duo of Michelle Jiang and Sally Zhen, 8-2.

The Leopards took five-of-six singles matches from the Beavers. Nicole Harden, Rebecca Rodriguez, Baca and Chavez all had solid performances, but the highlight of the day came at match No. 2. After dropping the first set 6-3, senior Lacey Wiles rallied to defeat Beaver Leslie Tong. Wiles captured set two 6-3 and the tiebreaker on a score of 10-6.

Harden won at No. 1 over Sarah Wadsworth, 6-1, 6-0, while Rodriguez swept Ellen Hsu 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3. ULV also came out victorious in contests No. 4, 5 and 6.

ULV returns to SCIAC play as they host Whittier College at the Bonita High School Tennis Courts on Friday, February 15, at 4 p.m.