Winning streak over for Lady Corsairs, still first in conference

The tight schedule continued for the Santa Monica College women's tennis team when they defeated Santa Barbara City College on Thursday, and dropped their first game of the season against Mount San Antonio on Friday. The Lady Corsairs came to the game against Santa Barbara with six straight wins, while their opponent was struggling with one lone win.

The 2001 champions Santa Barbara only managed to bring four players to the game and lost three of the matches by forfeit.

The win not only resulted in SMC's seventh in a row, but also earned them the top ranking out of all the Southern California community college women's tennis teams.

On Friday, the Corsairs faced the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties, who are ranked second, and sporting an undefeated record.

The Corsairs were down 4-2 after the singles, and had to win all three of the doubles to grab the victory.

However, the Mounties did not give SMC much of a chance, and won the doubles 8-3, 8-3 and 8-2.

SMC sophomore Juliana Nelkin was very disappointed after the game.

"I hate losing; dealing with a loss is tough, but that means we as a team have to get better and stronger," she said.

The match was played in heavy winds, something that caused trouble for the players.

"The wind is a huge factor when you play tennis outside," said Nelkin. "The ball is flying everywhere and it can easily get away from you. You just have to adjust and move your feet more."

The Mounties' head coach Sophie Salvador also mentioned the wind as a problem, but did not think that was the reason her team won.

"We won today because our bottom three players were better," said Salvador. "The top two were close, but overall we were better today."

SMC's head coach Richard Goldenson agreed with Salvador, and said that this is something that needs to be improved.

"Players four through six haven't been tested much, and the strength of these opponents took them by surprise," Goldenson said.

The girls were not used to losing, and Goldenson gave credit for how his team handled the defeat.

"I was proud of their sportsmanship, and how they fought and gave it all they had right up to the last point," he said. "It's nice to see how supportive everyone is of one another. They have really come together as a team."

Following their lost, the Lady Corsairs regrouped with a 5-4 win over Santa Barbara on Tuesday.

Up next for the Lady Corsairs is a road game against Glendale. The next home game will be on Tuesday against Bakersfield.