Caltech’s Wang, Moriyama Pull Out Three-Setters for Third Straight Win

Sophomore Erin Wang (Auburn, Calif. / Del Oro) and freshman Kana Moriyama (Redmond, Wash. / Redmond) battled through a pair of three-setters to complete an epic rally for Caltech women’s tennis against West Region No. 20 Pacific (Ore.) University, 5-4, on Monday.

Box Score

Caltech gets back to .500 on the season and is currently on a three-match win streak while Pacific drops to 4-7.

With just four courts available to begin as the men played simultaneously, a tight contest straight down the lineup turned into a six-hour match, with the Beavers trailing 2-1 after doubles and needing victories in both final singles matches.

Each team earned an early break in doubles before the #2 duo of Moriyama and Wang surged ahead, 7-2, while the #1 pairing fell behind 3-6. Freshmen Julia Reisler (Plano, Texas / Greenhill) and Cecelia Andrews (Orinda, Calif. / Miramonte) rallied against an early break to take a 5-4 lead, but Pacific would take both #1 (8-4) and #3 (8-6) as Caltech claimed #2 (8-2).

Caltech took early leads on three courts to open singles and converted two into first-set wins. Junior Sophia Chen (Newport Beach, Calif. / Corona Del Mar) blew through her match at #3, 6-1, 6-3, to even the match and Reisler kept it squared with a 6-3, 7-5 victory at #2 after the Boxers took #1 in straight sets.

After another hour of back-and-forth play on courts #3, 5 and 6, Andrews eventually succumbed at the bottom spot, 6-4, 7-5. Moriyama and Wang each took their matches into a third set, during which an incredible eight breaks occurred in the first 10 games. After another two in the next four, both courts were back on serve with the Beavers on top, 5-4 and 3-2. Moriyama dug in and finally notched the 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory, leaving Wang to finish the job. At 4-3, Wang’s opponent held serve, but after the next changeover Wang broke her foe to serve for the match. She found herself in a hole early in the game, but recovered to go up 40-30 and took the match on the next point.

Head Coach Mandy Gamble and the Beavers depart for a three-match swing through Texas this Thursday-Saturday, where they will face Texas Lutheran University, LeTourneau University and UT-Tyler.