By Georgia Blair – Staff Writer
San Jose State (6-4) defeated College of Charleston (10-8) 4-3 after clinching the doubles point and three singles matches.
Despite clinching the match 4-1, head coach Chad Skorupka had a standing agreement with Charleston coach Angelo Anastopoulo to allow the other matches to finish making the final score 4-3 in favor of SJSU.
“As i said to the girls, the way we played today will not put us in a successful situation against some good Mountain West opponents,” Skorupka said.
After struggling in doubles in recent weeks, the Spartans mixed up their pairs and got it done on the court winning two of the three doubles games to head to singles with a one point advantage.
“It gave us confidence,” said sophomore Laura Malsert. “We don’t usually win the doubles point.”
Alba Pedrero Galindo was the first to finish in singles dominating her opponent in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. The freshman gave the Spartans a 2-0 lead.
Junior Tamara Culibrk lost her match in three sets 6-2, 2-6, 1-6 allowing Cougars their first point of the afternoon.
Malsert finished next with a strong 6-3, 6-3 straight sets win.
“Her play style was very annoying, she kept hitting high balls” Malsert said. “I had to stay really focused.”
Klara Milojkovic clinched the Spartans’ win with her 6-4, 7-5 win finishing the match 4-1. The sophomore battled hard in the second set after her opponent mounted a comeback attempt.
Senior Miyo Kobayashi and sophomore Savannah Sendar both dropped their singles matches, but it did not affect the Spartans win.
“Our preparation will stay the same,” Malsert said. “Tomorrow we have running and conditioning, the same as any other week.”
The Spartans next match was slated at the University of Hawaii but they have added in a match on Saturday, March 30 against Hawaii Pacific University.
“We added Hawaii Pacific on Saturday,” Skorupka said. “They are a top ten division two team and i think losing some matches because of weather, we need to play some tough matches with the ultimate goal of getting us ready for the Mountain West championship.”
The Spartans will fly to Hawaii for two days of work. The match against University of Hawaii is set for Sunday, March 31. The match against Hawaii Pacific University is yet to be added to the schedule and does not currently have a start time.
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