By Hailey Amato
Staff Writer
Lately it seems the greatest enemy of the Pepperdine women’s tennis team has been their own bodies. Injuries have plagued squad members for the past month, painfully affecting their performance and record.
The Waves’ last two matches against No. 42 Baylor and No. 20 South Alabama resulted in two more losses for the team, now 6-8 for the season.
Thursday the Waves challenged Baylor in a match that came down to the last point. Pepperdine fell 4-3 in the closely fought contest.
“It can all depend on one set,” Head Coach Gualberto Escudero said.
Forfeiting the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles matches due to injury made the performance of each member of the team vital.
“Mentally we aren’t strong enough,” senior Monika Horvath said. “When it’s a deciding match and it’s really close it probably isn’t going to be that one player is so much better than the other. The match will be won by the player who can stay stronger mentally.”
The Waves grabbed the early lead by taking the doubles point. In the No. 1 doubles spot junior Charlotte Vernaz and Horvath won 8-5. Freshman Merve Asimgil and sophomore Karin Schlap-bach also battled to a 9-8 win.
Vernaz and Horvath won their matches at No. 1 and No. 3 singles as well.
Horvath, who has suffered from a back injury all season, normally only plays doubles for the Waves.
She decided to see if she could make a difference for her team in singles action.
“I felt bad that my teammates have been playing with only four singles players,” Horvath said. “I put myself on the court to see if I could get a point for us. I didn’t know how long I would be able to play. After the first set I was hurting, but I knew I had a chance to help the team.”
She did, but it was not quite enough to snatch the win.
Baylor’s victory was sealed when Asimgil fell 4-6, 6-5, 6-4 in the No. 2 singles position.
“Merve won her first set,” Escudero said. “A match isn’t won in the first set though. It’s won in the second or third. She allowed her opponent to come back. It was just inexperience. She lost that match knowing she could have won.”
Tuesday the Waves were defeated by South Alabama 6-1 in a dual match at the Ralph-Strauss Tennis Center.
Again the Waves were forced to default two singles matches and one doubles match because of injuries to team members.
“It’s really hard without Natalie Braverman, our No. 1 player,” Vernaz said. “It’s hard to stay motivated after you lose the doubles and you have to win every singles match to win. It’s a difficult task that seems impossible when you are down in your match.”
The Waves’ solitary point came in No. 3 singles from Schlaphbach, who won her match 6-1, 3-6, (10-6).
“Karin’s play started strong,” Escudero said. “Then she got behind, let her leg injury affect her, and it went to a super-tie in the third set. The first person to 10 points wins and she was down 6-1. Once people think a lead is insurmountable, it’s like an avalanche. You have to chip away one point at a time. The opponent thinks she has it and then it all comes crashing down.”
Pepperdine will travel to University of Southern California Friday afternoon for the second match-up of the season with the top-ranked Trojans.
March 20, 2003